Russia says no deal reached in talks with US on Ukraine

Talks between Vladimir Putin and a US envoy on ending the Ukraine war were “very useful” but much work remains to be done, a senior aide to Russia’s president said as Ukrainian and European officials met in Brussels.

Yuri Ushakov said Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff focused on the “substance” of proposals from the US, which is trying to clinch a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, during a five-hour meeting in Moscow on Tuesday.

He added the Kremlin found some of the proposals acceptable, while others drew a “critical and even negative attitude”, which Putin “did not hide”.

“No compromise has been found yet,” he said.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson said Russia had not rejected Donald Trump’s peace plan and said talks would continue behind closed doors, according to Interfax.

Peskov described the meeting as “the first time such a direct exchange of views has taken place [ . . . ] some things were accepted, some things were marked unacceptable and that’s a normal working process of seeking a compromise”.

The Kremlin said Russia and the US would continue talks at the level of envoys and aides, with a potential meeting between Putin and the US president depending on progress.

Rustem Umerov, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s national security adviser, met European counterparts in Brussels on Wednesday, updating them on peace talks and discussing security guarantees for Ukraine following any peace deal, he said.

Those talks took place ahead of preparations for a meeting with White House officials in the US, Zelenskyy said earlier on Wednesday, as shuttle diplomacy continued around a possible peace agreement.

Witkoff had travelled to Moscow after Russian officials said they were open to discussing a peace plan drawn up by the US with Russia’s input. Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law, also attended the Kremlin meeting.

However, the officials signalled their opposition to a revised, slimmer version of the plan incorporating changes sought by Ukraine. The full terms of the revised plan have not been disclosed. Ushakov said several versions of a peace plan were discussed at the meeting with Putin and Witkoff, and the question of territory was raised, as well as possibilities for economic co-operation between Russia and the US.

Moscow’s insistence that Ukrainian forces give up the remaining one-fifth of Donetsk province that they hold is a major sticking point between Russia and Ukraine.

Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary-general, said the Moscow talks were “important” but the military alliance needed to maintain pressure on Russia in case negotiations fail. “Hopefully it will lead to results. And if it takes too long or it is not leading to results, the best way to put pressure on the Russians is by doing two things: one is making sure that the Russians understand that the weapon flow into Ukraine will keep on going,” he said.

Rutte said this should take place alongside increasing economic sanctions pressure. “That’s the best way to change Putin’s calculus.”

Ushakov said some of the US proposals regarding territories were “more or less acceptable”, but others did not suit Moscow.

Speaking at a meeting of his cabinet on Tuesday, Trump described efforts to end the war as “not an easy situation”.

Earlier, Putin had accused European countries of undermining Washington’s efforts to end the war. “They have no peace agenda. They are on the side of war,” he said.

In a belligerent speech, Putin threatened to “cut Ukraine off from the sea entirely” in retaliation for Kyiv’s attacks on Russia-linked oil tankers.

He added that “we have no intention of fighting Europe — I’ve said this a hundred times. But if Europe decides to start a war, we are ready right now.”

Following a meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels, Rutte said on Wednesday: “Finally, Nato is a defensive alliance. We will remain a defensive alliance but make no mistake, we are ready and willing to do what it takes to protect our 1bn people and secure our territory.”

Additional reporting by Henry Foy