The Kremlin said Tuesday “no compromise” has been reached yet on the key question territory in Ukraine, after hours-long talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — preceded by days of frenzied diplomacy from Florida to Geneva to Abu Dhabi — was part of a push by Washington to advance a plan to end the war which was initially seen by Europe and Ukraine as too favourable to Moscow.
“So far we haven’t found a compromise, but some American solutions can be discussed,” top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in answer to a journalist’s question about occupied Ukrainian territories.
“Some proposed formulations do not fit us, and work will continue,” he added.
The top Putin diplomatic aide said the initial US plan was broken down into four parts, which were discussed during the five-hour meeting in the Kremlin.
“There were some points we could agree on,” Ushakov said, but “the president did not hide our critical, even negative, stance on a number of proposals”.
Still, Ushakov said, “the conversation was very useful and constructive,” even though “a lot of work lies ahead both in Washington in Moscow”.
When asked whether the two sides’ positions became farther apart after the meeting, Ushakov said: “Not farther apart, that’s for sure.”
Both sides also agreed not to reveal the essence of the negotiations, according to the Russian official.
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© Agence France-Presse
