Negotiations between the US and Russian delegations on a peace plan for Ukraine were held in Moscow on the evening of December 2. No specific decisions were made, although the Russian Federation called the meeting "successful".
The meeting began in the Kremlin at around 7:00 p.m. Kyiv time and lasted almost 5 hours. The US was represented by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trumpʼs son-in-law Jared Kushner, while the Russian side was represented by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, his aide Yuri Ushakov, and negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.
This time, the American delegation came with its interpreter Tatyana Albert. She studied in Russia and has publicly condemned Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine. Journalists drew attention to this amid the scandal that Putin used the services of Kremlin interpreters during meetings with him in February, March, and April. This violates long-standing protocol.
After the meeting, Ushakov said that the Russian delegation had received four more documents in addition to the initial 28-point plan. He did not specify the essence of these documents.
According to Putinʼs advisor, the delegations discussed the territorial issue at the meeting, but did not touch on the specific wording of the peace plan. No compromise has been reached yet, and a meeting between Putin and Trump is not yet planned.
NBC, citing a Russian source, reported that the Kremlin will not make concessions on three issues: the territories of the Donetsk region, limitations on the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and international recognition of the territories seized by Russia. But Russia is ready to be flexible on the issue of Russian assets frozen in the EU.
Witkoff and Kushner canceled a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, writes Kyiv Post correspondent in Washington Alex Rafoglu, citing sources. Ushakov previously said that the Americans promised to immediately "return home" after the talks in Moscow, without visiting Kyiv.
The US peace plan for Ukraine
The first version of the peace plan proposed by the United States consisted of 28 points. One of the main points concerned territories and provided that Crimea, as well as the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, would be recognized as de facto Russian.
Ukraine, the United States, and European partners began a series of talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23. After that, the American plan was reduced from 28 points to 19, taking into account Ukraineʼs position.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the document retained the points on the need to release civilians and prisoners of war according to the formula "all for all" and to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsia, who was part of the delegation at the negotiations, said that the clause on amnesty for potential war criminals was reworked to take into account "complaints of those who suffered in the war".
The US also agreed not to limit the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the issue of territories was put "out of the brackets" — they are to be discussed by Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.
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