A FIVE-HOUR meeting in the Kremlin between Russian President Vladimir Putin and envoys from former U.S. President Donald Trump ended without a breakthrough on a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, Kremlin officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Reuters cited today that Trump has repeatedly attempted to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two as a key, yet elusive, goal of his foreign policy, occasionally criticising both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The talks in Moscow involved Trump’s special envoy, billionaire real estate developer Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and continued past midnight. Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s senior foreign policy adviser, told reporters: "Compromises have not yet been found. There is still a lot of work to be done."
Ushakov said that Putin had reacted negatively to some U.S. proposals, while others were “more or less acceptable” but required further discussion.
"Some of the formulations that have been proposed to us are not suitable for us, that is – the work will continue," he added.
The Kremlin confirmed no meeting between Trump and Putin was currently scheduled, though Ushakov described the talks as constructive and highlighted opportunities for U.S.-Russian economic cooperation.
The discussions touched on the "territorial problem", Kremlin shorthand for Russian claims to the Donbas region, despite Ukraine controlling at least 5,000 square kilometres of the area, almost universally recognised as Ukrainian territory.
Ushakov noted that the sides agreed not to disclose details to the media, though Putin sent “a series of important signals” and his greetings to Trump.
Trump, speaking in Washington before the talks, described the conflict as a “mess” with 25,000 to 30,000 casualties per month. "Our people are over in Russia right now to see if we can get it settled. Not an easy situation, let me tell you," he said.
The Kremlin meeting followed a November leak of 28 U.S. draft peace proposals, which alarmed Ukrainian and European officials for appearing to favour Moscow’s demands.
European powers subsequently produced a counter-proposal, while the U.S. and Ukraine jointly presented an “updated and refined peace framework” in Geneva.
Zelenskiy, speaking from Dublin, stressed that the outcome of the Moscow talks would be crucial but expressed concern that U.S. interest in peace negotiations could wane.
"There will be no easy solutions … It is important that everything is fair and open, so that there are no games behind Ukraine's back," he said.
Just prior to the meeting, Putin signalled that Russia did not seek war with Europe but warned that if hostilities began, they would end swiftly, leaving no one to negotiate with.
In response to recent drone attacks on Russian “shadow fleet” tankers in the Black Sea, he threatened to sever Ukraine’s access to the sea. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Putin’s remarks indicated he was not yet ready to end the conflict. - December 3, 2025
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