For five hours, Russian President Putin and US envoy Witkoff discussed the revised draft for ending the war in Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, there has been no progress.
The conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff on the US plan to end the war in Ukraine apparently did not lead to a breakthrough, ARD notes. On the issue of the regions occupied by Russia, which cover 19 percent of Ukraine's territory, no compromises have yet been found, but “some proposals" of the US can be discussed, said Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov.
Ahead of the meeting, Putin issued sharp rebukes to Europe and said that in the event of an attack, Russia is ready for war with Europe. The Kremlin chief criticized to journalists the changes made to the original 28-point peace plan at the insistence of the Europeans. The European proposals are aimed at blocking the peace process, Putin said, quoted by the “Interfax” agency. The initial plan was criticized by many observers as a "Russian wish list." While a breakthrough in Moscow never materialized, EU countries agreed to end imports of Russian natural gas by the end of 2027, the German public media outlet noted. "Much more needs to be done," Ushakov said, however, that the consultations were "very useful and constructive." But "much more work is needed in Washington and Moscow" to achieve unity. "We managed to reach an understanding on some points, others were criticized. Putin did not hide his somewhat "negative attitude toward some proposals." Ushakov added that the framework of the American peace proposal was discussed rather than its specific wording.
In addition, Putin sent friendly, but also political signals to Trump, Ushakov said, without giving details. According to him, a new beginning in economic cooperation between Russia and the United States was also discussed.
As ARD points out, an agreement was reached not to disclose the negotiating line. “The work will continue”, Ushakov summarized. For now, a meeting between Trump and Putin is not being discussed - it would depend on the possible achievement of progress. Until then, the diligent and persistent work would continue through the channels of advisers, foreign ministries and other institutions.
NATO meeting without Rubio
For his part, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned “some progress” in an interview with Fox News. Attempts were made to find out what the Ukrainians would agree to, which would give them guarantees of security for the future.
NATO foreign ministers are meeting today in Brussels to talk about support for Ukraine. Rubio, however, refused to participate - instead of him, the US is sending Deputy Foreign Minister Christopher Landau, ARD reported.
„The Russian economy is in a catastrophic state"
In an interview with ARD, German political scientist Jonas Dridger said about the latest US-Russian talks that in his opinion the Russian regime is beginning to perceive the war as pain and a threat to itself, which is why it is sending signs that it may be ready to give up its maximum demands in the meantime.
The reason - the catastrophic state of the Russian economy, which became the reason for the increase in VAT. Moreover - as Dridger points out - more and more Russians want peace to be negotiated rather than maximum demands to be imposed. “This is also something that Putin's regime cannot ignore.” The political scientist is already seeing signals, albeit contradictory - for example, that Moscow is no longer insisting that Ukraine give up its territories in accordance with international law, but de facto only accept control over them - as the original American peace plan envisaged.
Zelensky: "No games behind Ukraine"
The American mediators wanted to first inform Trump about the results of the talks in Moscow - and then renew contacts with Russia. There was no mention of contacts with Ukraine, the German public media notes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on being informed about the results. “There should be no games behind Ukraine", Zelensky told reporters in Dublin. He was ready for another meeting with Trump, but first the fighting had to stop.
Political scientist Dridger, for his part, does not rule out increasing pressure from the US on Ukraine - under this administration this would be possible. From then on, it is important how the Ukrainians and the Europeans will behave, the expert points out. “The calculation should not be done without the Ukrainians, and the role of the Europeans in this dynamic is also very important - what support Ukraine will receive in European capitals."