The U.S. and Russia discussed Washington's plan for resolving the war in Ukraine. The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. special envoy Steve Whitcoff lasted about five hours. A compromise has not yet been found, the Kremlin stated, DW reports.
Negotiations between Russia and the United States on a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine took place in the Kremlin. The meeting lasted nearly five hours and concluded around 00:30 Moscow time on Wednesday, December 3, Russian news agencies report.
On the Russian side, President Vladimir Putin, his assistant Yuri Ushakov, and the special representative of the Russian president Kirill Dmitriev participated in the negotiations. The United States was represented in Moscow by the special envoy of the U.S. president Stephen Whitcoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Kremlin: There Is No Compromise Option on Ukraine Yet
During the meeting in the Kremlin, several options for a plan to end the war in Ukraine were discussed, assistant to the Russian president Yuri Ushakov told journalists following the negotiations. According to him, Moscow received four additional documents besides the initial U.S. "peace plan." Vladimir Putin did not hide his "critical and even negative attitude towards a number of Washington's proposals," Ushakov noted, adding that "specific territorial issues" were discussed at the meeting.
"So far, no compromise option has been found. But some American developments look more or less acceptable. However, they need to be discussed. Some formulations that were proposed to us do not suit us. That is, work will continue," the words of the assistant to the Russian president are quoted on the Kremlin's website.
Despite this, Ushakov described the meeting of the delegations as quite "useful, constructive, and substantive." In response to journalists' questions about whether peace became closer or further after these negotiations, he said: "Not further, that’s for sure. But a lot of work remains to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow."
Russia and the U.S. Agreed Not to Disclose the Essence of the Negotiations
According to Ushakov, the conversation was of a "completely closed, secret" nature, and the essence of the negotiations will not be disclosed by the parties. Following the meeting with the Russian president, U.S. representatives will "report personally" to Trump, after which they will likely contact Moscow by phone for further discussions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, simultaneously with the ongoing meeting in the Kremlin, wrote on Telegram that he does not expect easy solutions regarding the conditions for ending the war. According to him, Kyiv is waiting for signals from the American delegation after its negotiations in Russia. "The U.S. delegation wants to report to us immediately after the meetings. The next steps depend on these signals," Zelensky stated and suggested a possible upcoming meeting with U.S. representatives, including with the head of the White House, Donald Trump.
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