WP: Negotiations On The "peace Plan" Have Taken On A Different Tone

Why did the meeting in the Kremlin fail?

A U.S. delegation met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin yesterday for important talks on an updated peace plan for Ukraine that the White House is "highly optimistic" about.

According to The Washington Post (WP), the U.S. delegation for the first time included President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as the president's special envoy Steve Whitkoff.

The talks lasted nearly five hours. However, as Yuri Ushakov, Putin's top foreign policy aide, said at their conclusion, "no compromises have been reached, and a meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States is not planned at the moment."

"We did not discuss specific formulations or decisions, but the essence. Both sides see great prospects for cooperation," he said, adding that the talks were "constructive, very useful and informative."

The visit to Moscow is part of a renewed U.S. effort with a new peace proposal. "The administration is very optimistic," White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt said ahead of the meeting.

And Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky noted that he expected a report from Whitkoff and Kushner after their talks with Putin.

Putin himself, meanwhile, reiterated that his troops had captured the key Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk. Along the way, he accused European leaders of "obstructing" Trump's proposals and being "on the side of war."

Meeting with Ukrainian delegation

Over the weekend, Whitkoff, Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks in Florida with a senior Ukrainian security official. Afterward, both sides said there was still significant work to be done.

"It's a sensitive issue. It's complicated," Rubio said after hours of talks with Ukrainian officials.

The publication noted that Zelensky visited Paris on Monday to seek support from European leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron said that "there is no final peace plan to talk about today" and reiterated that any territorial decisions should be made by Kiev.

Director for Europe at the Eurasia Group consulting firm Mujtaba Rahman said the talks with Macron and other European leaders were "aimed at demonstrating European support for Kiev's position."

He added that "a quick ceasefire remains unlikely despite the ongoing U.S.-led talks," as Russia and Ukraine are expected to "continue maneuvering to find favorable ceasefire terms that will be unacceptable to the other side."

Why the talks have stalled

"So far, a deal that Moscow might agree to has been unacceptable to Kiev, and vice versa, which has stalled negotiations on how to end the war," the publication stated.

The journalists reasoned that U.S. attempts to mediate a settlement between Russia and Ukraine over the course of the year resembled a diplomatic "Groundhog Day" - a cycle in which each burst of activity ended with the Kremlin refusing to give in to its maximalist demands.

"Now the Trump administration, which, to put it mildly, has an uneasy relationship with Zelensky, is seeking to take advantage of Kiev's growing problems to resume negotiations on terms more favorable to Moscow," said Tatiana Stanovaya, an expert at the Carnegie Eurasia Center.

"The current negotiations have taken on a different tone. Given the West's reluctance to enter the war on Ukraine's side, the conversation now centers on the question of what price Kiev will have to pay for a cessation of hostilities," the analyst said.

One U.S. official told WP on condition of anonymity that he was concerned the Kremlin would send Whitkoff back "with a counteroffer that it would screw up and present as a favorable deal."

"And the Russians will do this to keep this torturous process going," he believes.

The publication's source added that it is even more likely that Putin will try to go back to the original 28 points that the Ukrainians changed.

"And then the whole thing will just fall apart," the official stated.

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