US, Dec 04 : US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his envoys had a “very good” conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine peace proposal, adding that the team returned with the “impression” that Putin “would like to end the war.”
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner held nearly five hours of talks with Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. The discussions centred on potential ways to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began in February 2022.
“Putin had a very good meeting yesterday with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. What comes out of that meeting, I can’t tell you because it does take two to tango,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“He would like to end the war that was their impression,” he added.
However, senior Kremlin adviser Yury Ushakov cautioned that while the meeting was one of the most extensive exchanges between Washington and Moscow since the war began, “no compromise” was reached on territorial questions.
Ushakov said both sides reviewed several possible paths toward a settlement, but major disputes remained unresolved. “We are no closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine, and there is much work to be done,” he said, noting that discussions continued late into Wednesday night.
The Kremlin official said fresh proposals were presented by the US delegation, but sticking points particularly over Ukrainian territory persisted. Senior Russian officials, including investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, were part of the talks, which explored multiple options for ending hostilities.
Ushakov emphasised that the discussions were confidential. “We agreed not to disclose the substance of the negotiations,” he said. He added that Putin had asked Witkoff to convey “important political signals” directly to Trump, with further communication expected between both sides.
Ahead of meeting the US delegation, Putin criticised the European Union’s involvement in the peace process, accusing EU governments of offering proposals “aimed at only one thing: to block the entire peace process altogether.”