Talks between the US and Russia fail to reach compromise on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin to discuss a „peace plan“ for Russia and Ukraine. The talks lasted nearly five hours.

During the talks, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who is visiting Ireland, said that Ukraine is closely monitoring the progress of negotiations between the US and Russia and will wait for signals from the US after the negotiations.

After negotiations, Russian presidential adviser Yuri Viktorovich Ushakov said that the discussions were constructive, very useful and substantive. Although the talks concerned territorial issues, Russia and the United States agreed not to disclose the content of the negotiations.

Ushakov said that no compromise solution to the Ukrainian issue had been reached yet. Some proposals put forward by the United States are acceptable to Russia, but others are not suitable for adoption.

Before meeting with Witkoff on 2 December, Putin told reporters that Russia could not accept Europe's attempts to change the peace plan for Russia and Ukraine proposed by the United States.

Putin pointed out that Europe is attempting to introduce certain changes to the „peace plan“ for Russia and Ukraine with the aim of thwarting the peace process and thereby shifting responsibility for its failure onto Russia.

Putin said that if Europe recognises the reality on the battlefield, it may still return to the mediation process in the Ukrainian crisis. Russia has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of waging war with Europe. However, if Europe suddenly launches hostile actions, Russia is ready to respond „at that moment“.

During his visit to Ireland, the Ukrainian president stated that Russia must demonstrate the same willingness as Ukraine to achieve „real peace and security guarantees“.

He also emphasised that there is no easy solution for a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. Under no circumstances should any secret manoeuvres be carried out behind Ukraine's back. No decisions concerning Ukraine should be taken without Ukraine's participation. Ukraine is actively cooperating with all partners to ensure that European and other member states of the „voluntary coalition“ supporting Ukraine can participate in the decision-making process.

CMG