Moscow: Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff aimed at ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine were described as “constructive,” but “no compromise” was reached on territorial concessions by Ukraine, senior Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said this week.
During a five-hour meeting at the Kremlin, Russia and the US failed to bridge their differences over a potential Ukraine peace deal. Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said, “We are no closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine, and there is much work to be done.”
The meeting marked a renewed effort by the Trump administration to mediate an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, though both sides agreed not to reveal details amid Moscow’s fresh warnings to Europe and growing concern in Kyiv and across the continent.
Yuri Ushakov said that talks with the US on ending the war in Ukraine were productive but still far from a breakthrough, with a settlement nowhere in sight.
"The discussion was confidential," Ushakov said. "We agreed not to disclose the substance of the negotiations."
Ushakov said the Russia-US meeting covered several possible tracks for resolving the conflict, but no real progress was made on the core sticking points.
Putin warns EuropeJust hours before meeting the US delegation, Putin sharply criticized Europe’s role in the peace process, accusing EU governments of putting forward proposals "aimed at only one thing: to block the entire peace process altogether". "They are on the side of war," he said. He argued that European suggestions included "demands that are absolutely unacceptable to Russia," and claimed Europe was attempting to undermine Trump’s efforts. Putin then issued a stark warning to Nato states: Russia would not start a war with Europe, he said, but if Europe initiated one, "it would end so swiftly that there would be no one left for Russia to negotiate with". |
