Five Hour Talks: Putin’s Meeting With Donald Trump Envoys Witkoff And Kushner Concludes; Kremlin Says ‘No Compromise’ On Territory

Russian President Vladimir Putin held nearly five hours of negotiations at the Kremlin with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on Tuesday, in a high-stakes attempt to explore a possible framework for ending the war in Ukraine. However, Moscow has stated that no compromise has been reached on territorial issues, which remain the core obstacle in ongoing peace efforts.

Putin Meets Trump Envoys for Nearly Five Hours

The meeting began around 16:30 GMT and continued well past midnight, with the Kremlin officially announcing the conclusion of the talks at approximately 21:30 GMT. Present during the discussions were Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, alongside interpreters.

Following the meeting, Dmitriev posted on X that the talks were “productive”, accompanied by a dove emoji, although no details of any breakthrough were revealed. Russian state news agency RIA reported that Witkoff was later seen arriving at the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

‘No Compromise’ Yet on Territorial Questions

Kremlin officials emphasized that progress was limited, stating that Russia remains firm on territorial control, particularly regarding the Donbas region. Ushakov described the talks as “constructive, very useful and informative,” but said “there is no compromise plan for Ukraine yet.”

Moscow revealed that it had received four additional documents related to the U.S. peace proposal, on top of the 28-point framework leaked last week. While Russia found certain U.S. points acceptable, others including NATO restrictions and Ukraine’s military limits remain contentious.

Trump Calls War ‘a Mess’

Speaking in Washington, President Trump said his envoys were attempting to help broker a settlement to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
“Our people are over in Russia right now to see if we can get it settled. Not an easy situation. What a mess,” Trump said, estimating casualties at 25,000 to 30,000 per month.

The U.S. delegation is expected to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later on Wednesday in Europe, according to Axios.

Zelenskyy Warns Against Secret Deals

Zelenskyy, speaking in Dublin, expressed concern that Washington might pursue an agreement without Kyiv’s full involvement, saying:

“There will be no easy solutions. It is important that everything is fair and open, so there are no games behind Ukraine’s back.”

He added that Ukraine feared the United States could lose interest in the peace process.

European Counter-Proposal Complicates Process

After the leaked U.S. proposal sparked alarm among European governments and Ukrainian officials who argued it conceded too much to Moscow EU diplomats drafted their own counter-proposal. Putin accused European states of trying to derail negotiations by adding demands “absolutely unacceptable to Russia.”

“They don’t have a peace agenda, they’re on the side of war,” Putin said.

While both sides described the Moscow meeting as useful, diplomats acknowledged that major disagreements especially over Russia’s demand for full territorial control in Donbas and NATO assurances continue to block an agreement. No US statement has yet been issued about the talks or the next negotiations timeline.

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