US and Russia Hold Marathon Talks on Ending Ukraine War: "Putin Agrees Only to Parts"

No Compromise Reached on Territorial Disputes and Other Key Issues

The United States and Russia engaged in a five-hour late-night marathon negotiation over a proposed end to the Russia-Ukraine war, but failed to reach an agreement on key issues, including territorial disputes. Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly conveyed to the special envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump that he could only agree to parts of the U.S.-proposed end-of-war plan.

According to Reuters and the British daily The Guardian on December 3 (local time), both sides began discussions at the Kremlin in Moscow the previous afternoon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding end-of-war talks with a special envoy team of U.S. President Donald Trump at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on the 2nd (local time). Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

On the U.S. side, President Trump's eldest son-in-law Jared Kushner was present, while the Russian delegation included Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov and Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

Yuri Ushakov, diplomatic adviser to President Putin and a member of the Russian delegation, stated in a briefing after the meeting that the talks were constructive, but "no compromise has been found yet." He also noted, "There is still much work to be done."

Adviser Ushakov said that President Putin expressed a negative stance toward some of the U.S. proposals. In particular, although the territorial issue-one of the core points-was discussed, no compromise was reached. He explained, "Some of the U.S. draft proposals appear acceptable but require further discussion," adding, "President Putin showed a negative stance on certain proposals." He further clarified, "We did not discuss specific U.S. proposals, but rather the key contents contained in those documents."

This meeting appears to have been based on the results of additional negotiations over an end-of-war plan that the United States and Ukraine held at a high-level meeting in Florida on November 30.

Previously, President Trump had drawn up 28 provisions for an end-of-war plan through behind-the-scenes negotiations with Russia. However, as it became known that the plan included numerous provisions unfavorable to Ukraine-such as ceding the Donbas territory, Ukraine's abandonment of its bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and a drastic reduction in military size-criticism arose not only from Ukraine and Europe but also from the U.S. Republican Party.

Subsequently, after discussing a new end-of-war plan with the Ukrainian delegation in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, the United States reduced the original 28 provisions to 19, postponing the contentious clauses for discussion at a summit between the relevant heads of state.

However, Russia maintains its opposition to any amendments to the end-of-war plan.

According to AP, TASS, and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), prior to meeting with the U.S. special envoy team, President Putin attended an investment forum, where he claimed that European countries were obstructing U.S.-led efforts to end the war in Ukraine. He stated, "We have said hundreds of times that we have no plans to fight Europe, but Europe wants to fight us, and if they do, we are ready right now."

He went on to say, "They are making demands that they know Russia can never accept," adding, "The recently proposed changes are absolutely unacceptable." He also pointed out that European countries are trying to shift the blame for the collapse of the Ukraine peace process onto Russia by acting in this manner.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.