Moscow and Kyiv ready for more talks.
MOSCOW: Russia and Ukraine are preparing for further talks with the US to end the nearly four-year war. US ambassador Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner left the Kremlin without reaching a peace agreement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s discussions with US officials concluded in the early hours of Wednesday, with neither side claiming any meaningful progress.
The Kremlin claimed that no “compromise” had been reached on the critical issue of territories.
The morning after the meeting, the Kremlin stated that it had told the Americans what was “unacceptable” to them.
Witkoff and Kushner presented an updated version of the US plan to end Europe’s deadliest war in 80 years, following negotiations with Kyiv.
The Kremlin claimed that it was inaccurate to imply Putin had rejected the plan in its entirety, and that Russia remained committed to negotiation, despite the Russian leader giving a harsh warning that Moscow was “ready” to battle Europe if it chose to.
“We are still willing to meet as many times as necessary to reach a peace agreement,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
According to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, any agreement should provide long-term peace and prevent Moscow from attacking again.
NATO ministers meeting
As the Americans returned from Moscow, Zelensky stated that his top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, and army ground leader, Andriy Gnatov, were on their way to Brussels, where NATO foreign ministers would be meeting.
They will also fly to the United States to meet with Trump’s envoys, Zelensky announced on social media.
Steve Witkoff of Washington has attended several Kremlin meetings but has yet to meet with Ukrainian officials.
NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels to discuss Washington’s efforts to cease the fighting.
“Ukrainian representatives will brief their colleagues in Europe on what is known following yesterday’s contacts by the American side in Moscow,” Zelensky stated via social media.
The new talks come as NATO pledges to buy hundreds of millions of dollars in US armaments for Ukraine.
“The peace talks are ongoing, that’s good, but at the same time, we have to make sure that whilst they take place — and we are not sure when they will end — that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going,” Mark Rutte, NATO’s chief diplomat, said.
Kremlin blasts Europe
European countries have expressed concern that Washington and Moscow will make agreements without them, and have spent the last several weeks attempting to change the US proposal so that it does not force Kyiv to succumb.
In Moscow, tensions with Europe were evident.