Russia called the talks with the United States on the peace plan in Ukraine “useful and productive”

The negotiations between the United States and Russia on the future of Ukraine concluded during the early hours of Wednesday in the Kremlin after almost five hours of talks, without reaching agreements on the occupied areas in Ukrainian territory. Moscow described the atmosphere of the discussions as “useful” and “productive”, but pointed out the existence of important differences and the need to continue working to bring positions closer. The meeting began on Tuesday night, at 7:40 PM local time (4:40 PM GMT), and took place in a context marked by tension between Russia, Ukraine, and European countries. The US delegation was headed by the special envoy of the White House, Steve Witkoff, who was accompanied by an interpreter, a response to previous criticisms about the lack of translation in previous negotiations. Jared Kushner, advisor and son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, also participated. On the part of the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin, international policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, and economic emissary Kiril Dmitriev attended. At the end of the meeting, Ushakov informed the Russian press that Putin addressed “the territorial issue” with the US representatives, and although he “criticized some points of the US plan, he supported most of them.” Both the Kremlin and the American participants agreed to keep the details of the negotiation confidential, without disclosing the specific content of the debate. Ushakov also stated that, despite the lack of specific agreements, both sides acknowledged partial progress and agreed that “much work remains to be done from Washington and Moscow.” The public reaction after the meeting was brief. Dmitriev described the meeting as “productive” in a message on the social network X, while the Russian state agency RIA Novosti reported that Witkoff immediately went to the US embassy in Moscow afterwards, without making any statements to the media. The context of this negotiation has been marked by the leak of previous conversations between Witkoff and Ushakov, which contributed to an atmosphere of distrust between the parties. In addition, Witkoff’s trip to Moscow took place after several consultations with Ukrainian representatives and a video conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron the previous Monday.

Before the meeting, Putin publicly rejected some of the European demands contained in the draft peace agreements for Ukraine. “They present demands that are absolutely unacceptable to Russia. They understand this and thus blame Russia for rejecting that peace process. That is their goal. We see it clearly,” declared the Russian president after participating in a VTB bank forum.

Regarding this, Trump acknowledged on Thursday before his cabinet, in a meeting rebroadcast by the White House, that the situation between Moscow and Kyiv was “difficult”. For his part, Zelensky warned this Tuesday that he awaits “signals” from the American delegation, and that Kiev’s next steps will depend on the direct information it receives. Likewise, the Ukrainian president recalled that an eventual meeting between Ukrainian and American delegations will take place only if “the signals open the possibility and the opportunity to make global but rapid decisions”. The negotiations coincide with European pressure for its concerns to be considered in any peace framework. Trump’s initial plan, made public last month and criticized for its alleged bias in favor of Moscow, proposes the cession to Russia of the entire eastern region of Donbas and Ukraine’s renunciation of integrating NATO. Although negotiators have indicated changes to that draft, there are no concrete details about the modifications. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, described the preparatory talks held in Florida last Sunday with Ukrainian representatives as “progressive”, although he also said that “much work remains to be done” to reconcile positions.

Meanwhile, the Russian Army claimed late Monday to have taken the city of Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region, something that the Ukrainian General Staff subsequently denied in a statement where it called the news “propaganda” and assured that the fighting in the area was still active.