Putin aide says Russia-US talks on Ukraine peace deal end without breakthrough

Five hours of negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior United States representatives ended without a breakthrough on a potential peace agreement for Ukraine, a Kremlin aide said early Wednesday. The meeting, held Tuesday in the Kremlin, brought together Putin, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, and presidential adviser Jared Kushner as part of a weeklong effort by Washington to advance its push to end the conflict.

According to Yuri Ushakov, Putins foreign policy adviser, the discussions were very valuable, constructive, and substantive, yet they failed to produce a mutually acceptable compromise. He noted that while some U.S. proposals may be acceptable with further discussion, others are not suitable for Moscow.

Long-standing obstacles remain, including Russias demand that Ukraine formally abandon its intention to join NATO and cede territory in the eastern Donbas region, parts of which Russia has annexed without fully controlling. Washington has not publicly commented on the talks so far, though before the meeting White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. was highly optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement to end the three-and-a-half-year war.

Ushakov added that no meeting between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump has been scheduled, noting that any such encounter would depend on progress achieved during negotiations. Ukrainian leaders have continued to dismiss Moscows sweeping demands, which the Kremlin still considers non-negotiable. Ushakov confirmed that territorial issues were addressed during the talks, stating that Russia sees them as essential to resolving the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected immediate communication from the U.S. delegation following their discussions with Putin and was waiting for signals regarding the results. He suggested that if those signals indicate a viable path toward fair and rapid decisions, a higher-level Ukrainian delegation would soon meet with the American negotiators.

Hours before the talks, Putin warned that while Russia does not intend to wage war against Europe, it is prepared to respond if provoked. He accused European leaders of attempting to undermine a U.S.-backed peace proposal by setting conditions he described as unacceptable to Moscow, claiming they were standing on the side of war and interfering with Trumps efforts.

His comments appeared linked to reported revisions made to Trumps original 28-point peace plan, introduced by Washington last month and rejected by Kyiv and its European partners. Subsequent discussions between Ukrainian and U.S. officials in Geneva modified the proposal to address Kyivs concerns. Nevertheless, the Kremlin restated shortly before the latest negotiations that any settlement must address what it calls the root causes of the conflictits shorthand for demands including halting NATO expansion, recognizing Russias claims over occupied Ukrainian regions, and diminishing Ukraines sovereignty.

A senior NATO official told reporters there is no indication that Moscow is ready to make meaningful concessions, noting that Russia continues to insist on territorial claims and aims to weaken Ukraines military capacity to facilitate further aggression.

The Putin-U.S. meeting followed discussions in Miami on Sunday between American officials and a Ukrainian delegation, talks that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as highly productive, while also emphasizing that significant work remains. Prior to the Kremlin meeting, Witkoff and Kushner were seen walking through Red Square with Russian representative Kirill Dmitriev, according to footage from state media. Earlier in the day, Witkoff and Dmitriev had lunch at a Michelin-starred Moscow restaurant, where they were served caviar, quail, venison, and crab, the restaurant director told Russian media.

Author: Sophia Brooks