Talks between Russia and the U.S. on ending the nearly four-year were constructive, but much work remains, Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on Wednesday.
Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin in talks that began late Tuesday as part of a renewed push by the Trump administration to broker a peace deal. Both sides agreed not to disclose the substance of the talks.
Ushakov called the five-hour conversation 鈥渞ather useful, constructive, rather substantive,鈥� but added that the framework of the U.S. peace proposal was discussed rather than 鈥渟pecific wording.鈥� Asked whether peace was closer or further away after these talks, Ushakov said: 鈥淣ot further, that鈥檚 for sure.鈥�
“But there鈥檚 still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 been agreed upon. And contacts will continue,鈥� the official said.
Putin’s aide also said that 鈥渟o far, a compromise hasn鈥檛 been found鈥� on the issue of territories, without which, he said, the Kremlin sees 鈥渘o resolution to the crisis.鈥�
鈥淪ome of the American proposals seem more or less acceptable, but they need to be discussed. Some of the wording that was proposed to us doesn鈥檛 suit us. So, the work will continue,鈥� Ushakov said.
There were other points of disagreement, although Ushakov did not provide further details. 鈥淲e could agree on some things, and the president confirmed this to his interlocutors. Other things provoked criticism, and the president also didn鈥檛 hide our critical and even negative attitude toward a number of proposals,鈥� he said.
Trump peace plan is center of effort to end the war
The meeting came days after U.S. officials held talks with a Ukrainian team in Florida and which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described in cautiously optimistic terms.
At the center of the effort is Trump鈥檚 peace plan that became public last month and raised concerns about being tilted heavily toward Moscow. The proposal granted some of the Kremlin鈥檚 core demands that Kyiv has rejected as nonstarters, such as Ukraine ceding the entire to Russia and renouncing its bid to join NATO.
Negotiators have indicated the framework has changed, but it鈥檚 not clear how. Ushakov said several iterations of a peace plan were being discussed at the talks. The official refused to go into details, saying only: 鈥淎t first there was one version, then this version was revised, and instead of one document, a few more appeared.鈥�
On Tuesday, Putin accused Kyiv鈥檚 European allies of sabotaging the U.S.-led efforts to end the war.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have a peace agenda, they鈥檙e on the side of the war,鈥� Putin said of the Europeans.
‘s accusations appeared to be his latest attempt to sow dissension between Trump and European countries and set the stage for exempting Moscow from blame for any lack of progress.
He accused Europe of amending peace proposals with 鈥渄emands that are absolutely unacceptable to Russia,鈥� thus 鈥渂locking the entire peace process鈥� and blaming Moscow for it. He also reiterated his long-held position that Russia has no plans to attack Europe — a concern regularly voiced by some European countries.
“But if Europe suddenly wants to wage a war with us and starts it, we are ready right away. There can be no doubt about that,鈥� Putin said.
Russia started the war in 2022 with its full-scale invasion of a sovereign European country, and European governments have since spent billions of dollars to support Ukraine financially and militarily, to wean themselves from energy dependence on Russia, and to strengthen their own militaries to deter Moscow from seizing more territory by force.
They worry that if Russia gets what it wants in Ukraine, it will have free rein to threaten or disrupt other European countries, which already have faced and , and an alleged widespread
Trump鈥檚 peace plan relies on Europe to provide the bulk of the financing and security guarantees for a postwar Ukraine, even though no Europeans appear to have been consulted on the original plan. That’s why European governments have pushed to ensure that peace efforts address their concerns, too.
Coinciding with Witkoff鈥檚 trip, Ukrainian President went to Ireland, continuing his visits to European countries that have helped sustain his country鈥檚 fight against Russia鈥檚 invasion.
High-stakes negotiations
Zelenskyy said Tuesday he was expecting swift reports from the U.S. envoys in Moscow on whether talks could move forward, after Trump鈥檚 initial 28-point plan was whittled down to 20 items in between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Florida.
鈥淭he future and the next steps depend on these signals. Such steps will change throughout today, even hour by hour, I believe,鈥� Zelenskyy said at a news conference in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Miche谩l Martin.
鈥淚f the signals show fair play with our partners, we then might meet very soon, meet with the American delegation,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here is a lot of dialogue, but we need results. Our people are dying every day,” Zelenskyy said. 鈥淚 am ready … to meet with President Trump. It all depends on today鈥檚 talks.鈥�
Building on progress in Florida
After months of frustration in trying to stop the fighting, Trump deployed officials to get traction for his peace proposals. Asked about a possible meeting between Putin and Trump, presidential aide Ushakov said it would depend on the progress of the peace effort.
The talks have followed parallel lines so far, with sitting down with Ukrainian officials. Zelenskyy said he met Tuesday with the Ukrainian delegation that returned from the negotiations with U.S. representatives in Florida. Rubio said those talks made progress.
Zelenskyy said the Florida talks took as their cue a document that both sides drafted at an earlier meeting in Geneva. The Ukrainian leader said that document was now 鈥渇inalized,鈥� although he didn鈥檛 explain what that meant.
Ukrainian diplomats are working to ensure that European partners are 鈥渟ubstantially involved鈥� in decision-making, Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app, and warned about what he said were Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at steering the negotiations.
European leaders want a say
Zelenskyy met with political leaders and lawmakers in Dublin on his first official visit. Ireland is officially neutral and isn’t a member of NATO but has sent nonlethal military support to Ukraine. More than 100,000 Ukrainians have moved to Ireland since Russia launched its war on Feb. 24, 2022.
It remains unclear how envoys are going to bridge the gap between the two sides on such basic differences as . European officials say the road to peace will be long.
European leaders want to make their voices heard after being largely sidelined by Washington. They are also working on future security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy under pressure
Zelenskyy is under severe pressure in one of the darkest periods of the war for his country. As well as managing diplomatic pressure, he must find money to keep Ukraine afloat, address that has reached the top echelons of his government, and keep Russia at bay on the battlefield.
The Kremlin late Monday claimed that Russian forces have captured the key city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Zelenskyy, however, said in Paris that fighting was still ongoing in Pokrovsk on Monday.
Ukraine鈥檚 general staff on Tuesday also denied Russia鈥檚 claims to have captured Pokrovsk, saying it was a propaganda stunt. The Ukrainian army is readying additional logistic routes to deliver supplies to troops in the area, the Facebook post said.
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