Five hours of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s senior negotiator appear to have failed to achieve a Ukraine peace deal.
A Kremlin spokesman said the Moscow meeting was “constructive”, but parts of the plan remained unacceptable to Russia.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner participated in the talks after weeks of intense diplomacy aimed at ending the war. The American team has not commented since leaving Moscow.
Earlier on Tuesday Putin said changes proposed by Kiev and Europe to the draft US-backed peace plan were unacceptable, and that if Europe “wants to go to war and start a war, we are ready right now”.
Ukraine and its allies are lobbying the United States to amend its draft peace accord, which the White House has called for a swift agreement and the Kremlin has previously signaled it is ready for.
That plan, which was widely considered favorable to Russia after it was leaked to the media in November, has undergone several changes in recent weeks.
Asked about the proposal after the Moscow meeting, Putin’s senior aide Yuri Ushakov said the Kremlin “agreed on some points… but some things we criticized”. He added, “We have not yet come up with a compromise version… there is a lot of work ahead.”
Major disagreements remain between Moscow and Kiev, including Ukraine’s agreement to give up territory under its control and security guarantees provided by Europe.
Moscow and Ukraine’s European allies are also at odds over their expectations of the shape of the peace deal.
Speaking ahead of the talks, Putin attacked the continent’s leaders who have supported Kiev’s defensive war effort since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.
He said that European leaders were under the illusion that they could inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. His country, he said, “was not planning to go to war with Europe – but if Europe suddenly wants to go to war and starts a war, we are ready right now”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected to be briefed on the Kremlin talks by the U.S. team after the meeting, though it was unclear whether Vitkoff and Kushner would fly to Kiev or other European capitals for further in-person talks.
Speaking before the Kremlin talks took place, the Ukrainian leader said on Tuesday that the opportunity to end the war was “now greater than ever”, but elements of the proposals still needed to be worked out.
“Everything depends on today’s discussion,” Zelensky told a news conference during an official visit to Ireland.
Zelensky said there was “no simple solution”, reiterating his country’s insistence that Kiev participate in peace discussions, and that clear security guarantees be agreed to, such as NATO membership – a move that Russia had long opposed and Trump rejected.
Zelensky said, “We have to stop the war in such a way that Russia will not be back in a year.”
Ukrainian representatives have held two rounds of high-level talks on the draft plan in recent weeks, attended by Witkoff, Kushner and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The White House said the resulting proposals have been “heavily refined”, although details of the updated plan have not been confirmed.
Putin – who believes Russia has the initiative on the battlefield – had appeared steadfast in his demands as of last week, while Zelensky has repeatedly said he would never give up control of eastern Ukrainian territories.
As Tuesday’s talks were underway, Trump told his Cabinet in Washington that resolving the conflict was not going to be easy, describing the conflict as “a mess.”
Kiev’s European allies countered the US-backed 28-point plan with their own document – removing many of the most controversial elements, such as Washington’s recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as de facto Russian.
Zelensky met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, with several European leaders joining the meeting virtually.
Macron said there was “no final plan to speak of” and that it could only be achieved with input from Ukraine and Europe.
Meanwhile, fighting continued on the frontline on Tuesday also. Ukraine’s military said it was still engaging Russian troops in the key eastern city of Pokrovsk – contrary to Moscow’s claim to have captured it.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has shared a video on Telegram claiming its troops are raising flags in the strategically important city, which they have been trying to seize for more than a year.
Ukraine’s Eastern Military Command claimed that Russia had tried to “raise the flag” over the city so that “propagandists” could say it had been captured. “They fled in a hurry, and the elimination of enemy groups continues,” it said in a statement on social media.
Ukraine’s military said its forces still controlled the northern part of the city, with Russian units suffering heavy losses, while international observers also rejected Russia’s claim to the area.
The army in Kiev also rejected Russia’s claims of capturing the north-eastern Ukrainian border town of Vovchansk and said it had “significantly improved” its positions in the north-eastern town of Kupyansk, which Russia claimed to have captured a fortnight ago.
According to the United Nations, more than 14,000 civilians as well as thousands of soldiers have been killed or injured since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Civilian targets, including kindergartens, hospitals and residential buildings, have been destroyed or heavily damaged by nightly drone or missile attacks.
The conflict between the two ex-Soviet states lasted until 2014 when Ukraine’s pro-Russian president was overthrown and Russia responded by annexing Crimea and supporting an armed rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
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