US-Russia hold ‘constructive’ peace talks but reach ‘no compromise’ on territory: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin met US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for nearly five hours in what have been described as “constructive” discussions on the US peace plan. The Kremlin, however, said that  “no compromise” was reached on territory, a key sticking point in the plan.

Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, said that while the talks between Witkoff and Putin were “useful”, there is a “lot of work” ahead. Speaking to Russian media shortly after the meeting ended, the Russian foreign policy adviser said there is still “no compromise version” of a plan for Ukraine. He noted that some US proposals are acceptable to Russia, while others are not.

The meeting is a crucial moment for Ukraine in what could be a fraught week following days of frantic diplomacy. At the heart of it is a US plan to bring peace, which has since been revised under pressure from Kyiv and its European backers.

What was discussed?

Putin met the officials for nearly five hours, according to a report by the New York Times. However, the meeting failed to yield any substantial results on the peace deal brokered by the US.

The negotiators went over the substance of the US peace proposals but did not discuss the wording of any provisions, reach concrete compromises, or agree to a new Putin-Trump summit, Ushakov said.

“The discussion was very useful, constructive and very substantive and lasted for not five minutes but five hours," he said.

The official further said that Putin had gone over the US proposals that the Kremlin had received in four documents ahead of the meeting.

On occupied Ukrainian territories, “so far we haven’t found a compromise, but some American solutions can be discussed. Some proposed formulations do not fit us, and work will continue,” Ushakov added.

Russian pressure

Putin appeared to send a hawkish message shortly before the US talks began.

He said that Pokrovsk, an eastern Ukrainian stronghold that Russian forces claim they recently captured, was a “good foothold for solving all the tasks set at the beginning of the special military operation”, using the Kremlin’s term for the war.

Apart from Pokrovsk, Kyiv is under pressure on several fronts.

The Russian leader also accused Europe of sabotaging a deal on the conflict and sent a grim message, saying: “We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now.”

He said Russian forces would step up strikes on Ukrainian ports and vessels in response to attacks on Russia’s “shadow fleet”, the ageing ships used to move oil and evade sanctions. Putin also cast Ukraine’s leadership as out of touch with the situation on the front lines.

“Ukraine’s leadership is currently preoccupied with matters other than the situation in the war zone. It’s as if they live on another planet," Putin said, referring to a corruption scandal that has marred Ukrainian politics.

With inputs from agencies