Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday met a U.S. delegation led by President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in a high-stakes diplomatic push to advance a U.S.-crafted peace proposal for the war in Ukraine. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is reported to have joined the delegation for the talks.
The Kremlin said the meeting was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in the Kremlin and described it as an important step toward a “peaceful settlement,” while U.S. officials — including the White House — expressed cautious optimism after recent U.S.-Ukraine consultations aimed at refining the plan.
The talks come after a flurry of diplomatic activity: U.S. representatives and Ukrainian officials met in Florida over the weekend to try to narrow differences in the blueprint, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been conducting a European tour to rally Kyiv’s partners and press for a deal that preserves Ukrainian sovereignty. Observers warn, however, that Moscow’s core demands — including territorial concessions and limits on Ukraine’s security architecture — remain major obstacles.
The meeting is unfolding amid ongoing battlefield developments that complicate negotiations. Moscow has claimed recent territorial gains — including in the eastern city of Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) — claims that Kyiv disputes and says fighting continues. Analysts say any pause in hostilities or diplomatic breakthrough will require hard compromises on issues that have been central to the war for nearly four years.
European reactions are mixed: some leaders have engaged closely with Kyiv and Washington to shape any settlement, while others voice skepticism that a deal brokered under the current plan will be durable unless it secures broad international guarantees and addresses both security and territorial questions. Commentators also note the political sensitivity of U.S. involvement given the plan’s association with President Trump and the administration’s push to move talks forward quickly.
What to watch next: readouts from the Kremlin and the U.S. delegation for concrete proposals or compromises; reactions from Kyiv about whether the revised plan adequately protects Ukrainian sovereignty; and any immediate changes on the battlefield that could either increase pressure for a deal or harden negotiating positions. This meeting is being watched closely because, even if it does not produce an agreement, it will set the tone for whether a U.S.-led diplomatic track can win wider international backing.
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