Putin Considers US Proposals to End Ukraine Conflict, Rejects Some

Key Takeaways:

• Putin considering US proposals for Ukraine conflict resolution.
• Russia prepared for multiple negotiations with the US.
• Kremlin appreciates Trump's efforts.
• Negotiations ongoing at the expert level.

The Kremlin stated on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted some of the U.S. proposals aimed at resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while rejecting others. However, Russia is prepared to engage in multiple rounds of negotiations with U.S. representatives until an agreement is reached, the Kremlin affirmed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made these remarks following discussions in Moscow, which involved Putin, a special envoy of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Witkov, and Trump's son-in-law, Kushner. These meetings extended into the early hours of Wednesday morning local time. A Kremlin aide later indicated that “compromise solutions have not yet been found.”

When questioned about the accuracy of the statement that Putin rejected U.S. proposals, Peskov clarified that this characterization was not entirely precise. He emphasized that “a direct exchange of views took place for the first time yesterday,” adding that “some elements were accepted, while others were flagged as unacceptable. This is the normal workflow for finding compromise solutions.”Peskov expressed Russia's appreciation for the efforts undertaken by President Trump, but he maintained that the Kremlin would refrain from providing real-time commentary on the discussions with the United States, as publicizing these discussions is unlikely to be constructive.

Peskov noted that “work is currently underway at the expert level. Certain outcomes must be achieved at the expert level, and then these outcomes will serve as the basis for contacts at the highest level.”Last November, a leaked draft containing 28 U.S. peace proposals surfaced, shocking Ukrainian and European officials, who characterized these proposals as a capitulation to Moscow. Subsequently, major European nations put forward counter-proposals. During discussions held in Geneva, the U.S. and Ukraine announced that they had developed an “updated and improved peace framework” to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Putin stated on Tuesday that major European nations are attempting to derail peace talks by presenting ideas that Russia could not possibly accept.

Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy aide, informed reporters after discussions with Witkov that Moscow had previously received a set of 27 proposals, followed by four supplementary documents, and that these documents were discussed with Witkov. Putin indicated last week that the U.S. and Ukraine had divided the initial proposals into four parts. The specific details of these proposals have not yet been disclosed.