The Kremlin praised the meeting, but a familiar obstacle remained. Moscow and Kyiv still disagree on the war’s most fundamental terms.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks at the Kremlin lasting more than three hours with US President Donald Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Kremlin described the meeting as “very useful,” but offered no indication of a breakthrough on ending the war.
As noted by Reuters
Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov said the American representatives presented several ideas on possible ways to reach agreements. However, he did not disclose the content of those proposals.
According to Ushakov, Putin told the American delegation that Russia was allegedly making “real progress” on the battlefield and was confident it would achieve its objectives. At the same time, the Russian leader stressed the need to eliminate the “root causes of the conflict.” Moscow has regularly repeated these claims since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Putin says he supports Trump’s efforts
A White House representative described the talks as substantive. According to him, further steps could be announced in the coming weeks.
Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow for the first time since January as representatives of US President Donald Trump. After the meeting, they left the Russian capital and are expected to travel to Kyiv, where talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are scheduled for Sunday.
The talks went beyond a simple exchange of views on resolving the Ukrainian crisis. Economic issues and potential large-scale, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects were discussed in considerable detail. Overall, it can be said that the talks were timely and very useful for both sides.
– Yuri Ushakov
Putin’s representative on investment issues, Kirill Dmitriev, called the meeting an “important peace-making visit.” He and Yuri Ushakov attended the talks.
Putin also spoke positively about Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war.
Understanding that he has found himself in a difficult situation, he nevertheless continues his efforts to help achieve a settlement and contribute to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
– Vladimir Putin
Earlier, Donald Trump said that the United States had a new proposal for ending the war, but did not disclose its details. Putin promised to ensure the safety of the American negotiators.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously said that Putin had instructed the Russian military not to strike Kyiv for three days in connection with the visit by the US representatives.
Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart
During the ten days before the talks, Russia attacked Kyiv with missiles and drones almost continuously. Friday’s strike damaged the headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service.
Throughout the summer, Ukraine carried out strikes on Russian oil refineries, oil terminals and warehouses belonging to the Wildberries online retailer, seeking to raise the cost of continuing the war for Moscow. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv was ready to refrain from striking Moscow until Monday.
Russia and Ukraine still hold fundamentally different positions on ending the war, which has become the bloodiest armed conflict in Europe since the Second World War.
A person close to the Kremlin said that Putin still sought to seize additional territory. According to this person, the Russian leadership was not ready to negotiate over the front line until it had established control over the rest of Donetsk region.
There will be no possibility of reaching an agreement on the front line until Putin completes the seizure of the rest of Donetsk region.
– Person close to the Kremlin
This person added that the Kremlin, relying on reports from its commanders, expected to accomplish this by the end of the year. At the same time, Western military analysts consider this scenario unlikely because of the slow pace of the Russian military’s advance.
Ukraine refuses to hand over territories that its forces have managed to hold at the cost of significant losses and regards such demands as tantamount to capitulation. The Kremlin said that Putin’s position, set out in a speech two years ago, remained “unwavering.” This refers to the demand that Russia be handed the entire territory of the four regions it claims, as well as Ukraine abandoning its plans to join NATO.
Thus, the talks in Moscow demonstrated that contacts between the parties remain in place, but showed no convergence in their key positions on territory or the terms for ending the war.