Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that it would be inaccurate to claim President Vladimir Putin rejected US peace proposals during meetings with Steve Witkoff, special envoy to former President Donald Trump, and Jared Kushner.
Speaking at a daily press briefing, Peskov described the discussions, held in Moscow and lasting into the early hours of Wednesday, as “a direct exchange of views for the first time.” He added, “Yesterday was the first time that a direct exchange of opinions took place. Something was accepted, something was marked as unacceptable. This is a normal working process and a search for compromise.”
Peskov declined to disclose specific details of the five-hour negotiations, stressing that “there’s an understanding that the more quiet surrounds these negotiations, the more productive they are. We’ll stick to this principle and we’re hoping that our American counterparts will, too.” He said Russia remains ready to meet US negotiators as many times as necessary to reach an agreement.
The discussions follow leaks in recent weeks suggesting the US attempted to present a maximalist set of demands, derived from Russian positions, as their own “peace plan.” The Kremlin said last week that while some US proposals were accepted, others were rejected, and that compromises have not yet been reached.
Peskov thanked Trump for his efforts but reiterated that the Kremlin would avoid public commentary on ongoing talks, saying results are expected to emerge from work at an expert level before reaching the highest level of negotiations.
“Work is currently being carried out at a working expert level,” Peskov said. “It is at the expert level that certain results should be achieved that will then become the basis for contacts at the highest level.”
The backdrop to the talks includes a leaked 28-point US draft peace plan, which drew criticism from Ukrainian and European officials for largely aligning with Moscow’s key demands. European powers subsequently proposed a counter-framework, which the US and Ukraine later refined in Geneva.
Putin has accused European powers of attempting to derail the negotiations by proposing measures “absolutely unacceptable to Russia.” According to his foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, Moscow reviewed an initial 27-point proposal and four additional documents with Witkoff during the talks.
While the exact contents of the proposals remain undisclosed, Kremlin officials emphasized that the search for compromise continues and that expert-level discussions are central to shaping future high-level contacts.
Melissa Enoch
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