Talks on Ukraine With Witkoff, Kushner ‘Constructive’ But No Consensus Reached: Kremlin

According to the Kremlin, no agreement was reached during a five-hour meeting involving U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking at a briefing in the Kremlin after the meeting, Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, told reporters that the meeting was “constructive,” but he said, “Compromises have not yet been found.”

“There is still a lot of work to be done,” Ushakov said.

Ushakov relayed greetings to Trump from Putin, but said that specific details would not be provided.

However, Ushakov acknowledged that during the meeting, officials discussed the so-called territorial problem, Russia’s terminology for its claim to the whole of the Donbas region. Ukrainian forces currently control at least 1,900 square miles of the area.

“Some American draft proposals look more or less acceptable, but they need to be discussed,” Ushakov said. “Some of the formulations that have been proposed to us are not suitable for us—that is, the work will continue.”

Earlier, Witkoff and Kushner were filmed walking through Moscow’s Red Square with Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev, a Putin ally, before arriving at the Kremlin.

The discussion fits into Trump’s broader effort to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, which has raged for nearly four years. Witkoff and Putin last met in August.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Dec. 1 that the Trump administration “feels very optimistic” about the progress of the talks.

“They had very good talks with the Ukrainians in Florida. And now, of course, Special Envoy Witkoff is on his way to Russia,” she said.

The White House confirmed last month that it had been crafting a 28-point peace plan to resolve the war.

The leaked draft proposal would require Ukraine to make significant territorial concessions, cap its armed forces, and abandon its pursuit of NATO membership. The agreement would also involve sanctions relief for Russia, the redirecting of frozen Russian assets to Ukrainian reconstruction, and Russian pledges not to attack Ukraine or other European nations.

Since then, European nations have put forward an alternative plan, and negotiations between Kyiv and Washington have taken place in both Geneva and Florida.

Following the Florida meeting on Nov. 30, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that progress had been made in reaching an end to the war.

“It’s not just about the terms that ends fighting,” he said.

“It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity. … I think we built on that today, but there’s more work to be done.”

Before the talks had ended, Rubio said he expected the Trump administration to “make even more progress.”

Witkoff and Kushner were also involved in the discussions.

Putin has previously indicated that the U.S.-backed peace plan could serve as the basis for ending the war.

Speaking at a news conference during a visit to Kyrgyzstan on Nov. 27, Putin said he is prepared for a “serious discussion” regarding the plan.

He said that a new draft text of the agreement had been given to Moscow. However, since then, the talks between the United States and Ukraine in Florida have taken place.

Ukraine’s View

During a trip to Paris on Dec. 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the peace plan “looks better” following his team’s most recent discussions with the Americans.

However, he said Ukraine’s control over territories that are currently internationally recognized as its own remained “the most complicated” issue in the discussions.

Later that day, Zelenskyy arrived in Ireland for his first official visit to the country, where he will meet with Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin and the country’s newly elected president, Catherine Connolly.

Although Ireland is a member state of the EU, it is not part of NATO because of the country’s long-standing policy of military neutrality.

On the Battlefield

Putin praised his military commanders for what was described as the full Russian capture of the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, TASS reported on Dec. 2.

“I want to thank you for the results of our work in Krasnoarmeysk,” he said during a visit to one of the command posts of the joint group of forces on Nov. 30. “I want to thank you and the entire command and personnel of the group. Of course, I want to thank the soldiers, our guys, who are carrying out these combat missions.”

Russia uses the Soviet-era name Krasnoarmeysk for the city.

“This is an important area,” Putin said. “We all understand how important it is. And this will ensure we progressively address all the key objectives we face, which were initially set at the beginning of the special military operation. Thank you.”

Kyiv refuted Moscow’s claims that it had taken Pokrovsk. In a post on Telegram, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine called them “yet another attempt by the Kremlin to use a staged ‘flag-planting’ video for propaganda purposes in order to influence participants in international negotiations.”