Putin’s top aide, Yury Ushakov, made the comment on Wednesday, the day after a five-hour meeting between Putin and Washington officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner failed to deliver a breakthrough in Ukraine peace negotiations.
“The American partners have confirmed their readiness to take into account our considerations and our key proposals,” Ushakov told reporters.
While Kyiv argues it must join NATO to protect itself against future Russian aggression, Moscow says Ukraine must never be allowed to join the military alliance.
Another significant area of disagreement is territory, with Ushakov saying shortly after the Witkoff meeting that “no compromise” has been found on regions Russia captured and plans to keep.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a video statement late Wednesday, stated that pressure must be applied on Russia to achieve peace.
“Right now the world clearly feels there’s an opportunity to end the war and that current diplomatic activities must be reinforced with pressure on the aggressor. Everything depends on this combination,” he added.
Ukraine’s European allies later hit out at Russia at a NATO meeting in Belgium, accusing Putin of having no intention of stopping the full-scale war it launched against its neighbour in February 2022.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday it’s “not correct” to say Russia is against the US peace plan.
“We’re deliberately not going to add anything,” he continued, adding, “It’s understood that the quieter these negotiations are conducted, the more productive they will be.”
Responding to Tuesday’s US-Russian negotiations, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed that Witkoff, the US special envoy, spoke to the head of the Ukrainian delegation after he met with Putin in Moscow.
“Representatives of the American delegation reported that, in their opinion, the talks in Moscow had a positive outcome,” he said, adding representatives from Kyiv would be invited to the US again soon. The two sides held talks in Florida on Sunday.
Witkoff and Kushner briefed Trump and Ukrainian officials after a “thorough, productive meeting” with Russia’s leader, the White House announced.
