No Breakthrough in Kyiv as U.S. Seeks Three-Way Talks With Russia and Ukraine

Weekend talks in Moscow and Kyiv produced no breakthrough, but the United States is pushing for the next stage: direct negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine and Washington.

U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday. On Sunday, they met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, along with representatives from France, Germany and Britain. The White House said the U.S. and Russian delegations had discussed “concrete” plans for the next steps toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, with an announcement expected in the coming weeks.

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concrete

Putin’s foreign-policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the Moscow meeting as “useful” and “very frank.” He said the discussions covered ideas for ending the war, economic issues and possible major projects that could benefit both Russia and the United States. Putin continued to say that Russia would achieve its objectives and that the conflict’s underlying causes had to be resolved.

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useful

Zelenskyy called the Kyiv discussions “very thorough,” while Witkoff expressed confidence in the talks with both Ukraine and Russia. Still, Kyiv produced no agreement. Zelenskyy said Ukraine expected the war to continue through the winter months. The talks addressed security and economic guarantees for Ukraine, deliveries of air-defense missiles and a winter support package. Kyiv wants U.S. help ahead of expected Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.

Kushner said the United States favored trilateral talks because all sides could communicate directly without Washington speaking on behalf of either Kyiv or Moscow. Zelenskyy also said he hoped for that format. Earlier U.S.-mediated three-way negotiations failed to resolve key issues, including Ukraine’s territorial status and security guarantees.

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very frank

Putin said he had ordered a three-day pause in Russian strikes on Kyiv during the U.S. delegation’s visit to Ukraine. Zelenskyy said he was also prepared to refrain from strikes on Moscow until Monday.

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very thorough