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Both sides describe talks as constructive but admit no compromise could be reached on the thorniest issue – territorial concessions
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Talks between Vladimir Putin and two senior envoys for Donald Trump stretched late into Tuesday night but failed to reach a compromise on the terms of a peace deal for Ukraine.
Putin’s top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the five-hour summit brought the region “no closer to peace” – but also no further away.
Ushakov described the talks as constructive but said there was no agreement on the thorniest issue of territory. Russia wants to be handed the whole of the eastern Donbas region, something Kyiv has flatly refused.
Ahead of the talks involving Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Putin told an investment forum that a new 20-point peace plan agreed by Ukraine and the US was unacceptable to Moscow.
He accused Europe of wanting to sabotage the talks, adding that if Europe “wants to go to war and starts one, we are ready right now”.
What the 20-point plan involved is not clear, but the Ukrainian president has said that the 28-point roadmap proposed by the US last month – widely viewed in Europe as a capitulation for Ukraine – had been reworked into a new agreement.
An aircraft thought to be carrying US special envoy Steve Witkoff flew out of Moscow in the early hours today after talks at the Kremlin on a settlement of the war in Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported.
The agencies, quoting aviation sources, said a Bombardier jet which had arrived the previous day with Witkoff on board had left the capital’s Vnukovo airport.
Witkoff and US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner held five hours of talks in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin. TASS news agency said the plane took off at about 2.02am (2302 GMT).
Russia and the US have failed to agree terms on a peace deal in Ukraine after five hours of talks in Moscow, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
He said peace in Ukraine was “no closer” but also no further away.He noted that the two sides failed to reach a compromise on one of the most difficult issues – territorial disputes.
Ushakov described the discussions as constructive but acknowledged that differences remain over Ukraine.
The comments came after Russian president Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he was afraid the United States could lose interest in the Ukrainian peace process and that Russia’s goal was to bring this about.
“Yes, I am afraid. If somebody from our allies is tired, I’m afraid,” Zelensky told an event in Dublin when asked if he was concerned the US could lose interest in the peace process.
“It’s the goal of Russia to withdraw the interest of America from this situation,” he said.
President Vladimir Putin has warned European powers that if they started a war with Russia then Moscow was ready to fight and that the defeat of European powers would be so absolute that there would be no one left to even negotiate a peace deal.
Asked by a reporter about remarks in the Russian media that Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto had cautioned that Europe was preparing a war against Russia, Putin said that Russia did not want a war with Europe.
“If Europe suddenly wants to start a war with us and starts it,” Putin said, then it would end so swiftly for Europe that Russia would have no one left to negotiate with. Putin used the Russian word for “war”.
He also suggested that the war in Ukraine was not a full-blown war and that Russia was acting in a “surgical” manner which would not be repeated in a direct confrontation with European powers.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that recent comments by Russian president Vladimir Putin show Russia is threatening freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and is not ready to end its war on Ukraine.
“For the second day in a row, Putin makes statements that demonstrate that he does not plan to end the war,” Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
“Yesterday he said he was prepared to fight through the winter. Today, he threatens sea ports and freedom of navigation.”
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte brushed off fresh concern Tuesday about the United States’ commitment to the military organization on the eve of a meeting of allied foreign ministers focused on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio was expected to miss Wednesday’s meeting, which will unfold during high-stakes negotiations in Moscow and in Europe about Ukraine’s future.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Mr Rutte underlined that Rubio has a busy schedule.
“He’s working extremely hard to take care not only of the situation of Ukraine, but of course many other issues which are on his plate,” Rutte said. “So I totally accept him not being able to be here tomorrow, and I would not read anything in it.”
A senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal administration reasoning for the absence, said Rubio has already attended dozens of meetings with Nato allies, “and it would be completely impractical to expect him at every meeting.
“Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will attend instead and press the allies to deliver on their commitment to invest 5% of gross domestic product on defense.
A Russian-flagged tanker carrying sunflower oil has reportedly been attacked off the Turkish coast, though its 13 crew members are unharmed, Turkey‘s maritime authority confirmed on Tuesday.
The vessel, MIDVOLGA-2, reported the incident 80 miles (130 km) from the Turkish coastline.
It did not request assistance, proceeding instead towards Turkey’s Sinop port, the Maritime Affairs Directorate stated on X. Broadcaster NTV suggested the attack involved a kamikaze drone.
Volodymyr Zelensky is in Dublin, where throughout the day he has been commenting on peace efforts with the US and Russia.
Before talks concluded in the Kremlin, the Ukrainian president said he had some optimism around peace efforts due to the speed of the process and the United States’ interest in finding a solution.
“A little bit optimism was in my words because of some speed of negotiations, and from the American side, their interest in it.
“It showed that America is not withdrawing now from any kind of diplomatic way of dialogue and it is good,” Mr Zelensky told an event during a visit to Dublin.
Nato has said that Ukrainian forces have ben “virtually encircled” in Myrnohrad and are relying on drones for supplies.
Russian troops now control more than 95 per cent of the city of Pokrovsk, a senior Nato official told European Pravda.
“Myrnohrad is now virtually fully encircled,” the official said.
“There is a narrow corridor through which the Ukrainians can withdraw certain forces, but it is a very narrow corridor, itself under hostile fire control. Overall, this is an encirclement, though not yet a complete encirclement.
Discussing Pokrovsk, the official said: “Ukrainian forces are still conducting defensive actions inside the city, but as supply routes have been almost completely cut, Ukrainian troops are dependent on resupply by drones, which is becoming increasingly difficult.”
“Russians control over 95% of the city… There are only isolated pockets where Ukrainian forces continue to resist.”
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