No breakthrough on Ukraine after Putin meets Trump envoys: Russia

Top foreign policy aide says Russian leader reacted negatively to some US proposals

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (third from right) and his team and meeting US special envoy Steve Witkoff (second from left) and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec 2. PHOTO: AFP

(AFP)

Russia and the United States did not clinch a compromise to end the war in Ukraine after a five-hour Kremlin meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s top envoys, the Kremlin said on Dec 3.

Mr Trump has repeatedly complained that ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II has been one of the elusive foreign policy aims of his presidency. He has at times scolded both Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Talks in Moscow between Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner went past midnight.

Afterwards, Mr Putin’s top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters at a briefing in the Kremlin: “Compromises have not yet been found. There is still a lot of work to be done.”

He said Mr Putin reacted negatively to some US proposals and added that Mr Witkoff went to the US embassy in Moscow after the talks to brief the White House.

Mr Ushakov said the talks were constructive and there were huge opportunities for US-Russian economic cooperation, but a meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Trump was not currently planned.

He added that Mr Putin had sent a series of important signals and greetings to Mr Trump, but the two sides had agreed not to disclose details.

Mr Ushakov said they had discussed the “territorial problem” — Kremlin shorthand for Russian claims to the whole of Donbas, though Ukraine controls at least 5,000 sq km of the area which Russia claims as its own. Almost all countries recognise Donbas as part of Ukraine.