Kremlin Calls Putin-Witkoff Talks Useful but Offers No Sign of Breakthrough

The Kremlin described Vladimir Putin’s latest talks with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as “highly useful”, but gave no indication that the three-hour meeting had produced a breakthrough toward ending the war in Ukraine.

Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin aide who attended Saturday’s meeting, said the U.S. representatives had presented several possible routes towards a settlement.

He did not disclose the proposals or suggest that Moscow had accepted any of them.

Putin, meanwhile, reiterated Russia’s confidence in its military position and insisted that any agreement would have to address what Moscow calls the conflict's underlying causes.

Moscow Signals Continuity

According to Ushakov, Putin told Witkoff and Kushner that Russian forces were making “real progress” on the battlefield and that Moscow remained confident it would achieve its objectives.

The Russian leader also stressed the need to resolve “all the root causes of the conflict,” language Moscow has repeatedly used since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

The remarks pointed to little visible movement in the Kremlin’s negotiating position despite the positive assessment of the meeting.

“Overall, one can say that the negotiations were timely and highly useful for both sides,” Ushakov said.

U.S. Envoys Present New Ideas

Ushakov said Witkoff and Kushner “outlined a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement,” without providing further detail.

A White House official described the discussions as “substantive” and said further steps would be announced in the coming weeks.

Witkoff and Kushner left Moscow shortly after the talks and were due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.

The pair were making their first visit to Moscow since January on behalf of President Donald Trump.

Trump said on Friday that Washington had a new proposal to end the war, but did not provide details.

Putin Praises Trump’s Role

Putin used televised remarks at the start of the meeting to commend Trump’s continued involvement in negotiations.

“Understanding that he is entering a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to help bring about a settlement and to make his contribution to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” Putin said.

Ushakov said the meeting also covered economic issues and the possibility of large Russian-American projects.

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy, who also attended the talks, described the meeting on X as an “important peacemaking visit.”

Positions Remain Far Apart

The diplomatic activity came with Russia and Ukraine still sharply divided over the terms of any settlement.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Putin’s previously stated position remained “unshakeable”: Ukraine should relinquish the entirety of four regions claimed by Russia and abandon plans to join NATO.

Ukraine has rejected demands to surrender territory it continues to defend.

A person close to the Kremlin said Putin remained focused on taking additional territory and saw no prospect of an agreement on the front line before Russian forces secured the remaining part of the Donetsk region.

“There is no chance of reaching an agreement regarding the front line until Putin finishes securing the remaining part of the Donetsk region,” the person said.

The source added that Putin believed this could be achieved by the end of the year, based on assessments from Russian commanders. Western military analysts consider that prospect remote given the pace of Russian advances.

Strikes Continue Around Diplomacy

The talks also came after an intensification of long-range strikes by both sides, even as the ground front remained largely static.

Russia had struck Kyiv repeatedly over the previous 10 days with missiles and drones, including an attack on Friday targeting the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service.

Ukraine, for its part, has struck Russian refineries, oil terminals and warehouses during the summer in an attempt to increase the cost of Moscow’s war effort.

Putin ordered Russian forces not to strike Kyiv for three days because of the U.S. envoys’ visit, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Zelensky said Ukraine was prepared to refrain from strikes on Moscow through Monday.

The pause surrounding the diplomatic visits has not, however, been matched by any publicly disclosed narrowing of the core political and territorial differences between Moscow and Kyiv.