A long and important meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior United States officials has ended without an agreement to stop the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin confirmed this on Wednesday. The discussions in Moscow, which lasted for hours, showed that the positions of Washington and Moscow remain very far apart. This is despite weeks of careful preparation by the American team.
The U.S. delegation, which included President Donald Trump’s special representative and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, spoke directly with Putin and his top foreign policy adviser for about five hours. They discussed an American draft peace plan. This document had been changed after earlier versions were leaked and criticized. Ukraine and European countries had said the first proposals gave Russia too many advantages.
After the meeting, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov gave a cautious summary. He said there was no real progress on the main problems. "Compromises have not yet been found. There is still a lot of work to be done," he stated. He explained that some parts of the American plan could be discussed further, but other parts were completely unacceptable to Russia. He did not give specific details because both sides had agreed not to share them.
A major ongoing issue is the status of territories in eastern Ukraine, like the Donbas region. The U.S. plan must find a balance between Ukraine's demand for its full borders and Russia's claim to control the areas it has taken. Before the talks, Putin used strong language, rejecting proposals from Ukraine and Europe. He also warned European nations, accusing them of making the war worse.
While the Kremlin described the talks as "constructive" and mentioned possible future economic cooperation, the result is a continued deadlock. There is no clear path to a ceasefire or to serious negotiations, disappointing those hoping for a quick end to the three-year conflict. The Kremlin also said a future summit between Presidents Putin and Trump is not being planned.
The lack of a breakthrough means the fighting continues and diplomatic tensions remain high. The failure to agree on basic issues like security and territory during this direct meeting suggests the difficult war will go on. Diplomatic efforts will now continue their slow and uncertain work behind closed doors.