The U.S. diplomatic push to end nearly four years of fighting following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has bogged down over sharply conflicting positions on territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Berlin on Monday for a meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner following their talks on the previous day that lasted over five hours. In a statement on X, Witkoff said they held “in-depth
discussions” Sunday and “a lot of progress was made.”
Witkoff and other U.S. officials didn’t elaborate on the two days of talks, but Russian and Ukrainian leaders have publicly described some of their demands.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants all the areas in four key regions that his forces have seized, as well as Crimea, which was illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory. He also has demanded that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow forces have not captured yet.
The Kremlin also insists that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO, limit the size of its army, grant official status to the Russian language and recognize the Russian Orthodox Church. It warns it won't accept the deployment of any troops from NATO members and will view them as “legitimate target.”
Russia has refused to halt the fighting until a comprehensive peace deal is reached.
Kyiv has said it’s ready to halt the fighting along the existing front line — although it would not officially cede territory currently under Russian control. It has rejected Moscow’s demands that it pull back its troops from other areas that Russia has not been able to take by force.
Zelenskyy on Sunday also rejected a compromise U.S. idea for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk region and create a demilitarized free economic zone there.
He has expressed readiness to drop Ukraine’s bid to join NATO if the U.S. and other Western nations give Kyiv security guarantees similar to those offered to members of the military alliance.
Zelenskyy and his European allies have repeatedly accused Putin of dragging out the talks to extend Russian territorial gains.
Trump has appeared to voice increasing exasperation with Zelenskyy, saying the Ukrainian leader should accept the U.S. proposal to cede some territory to Russia, arguing Moscow has the “upper hand” in the war.
Trump, mirroring a view expressed by Putin, repeated his call for Ukraine to hold a wartime presidential election even though martial law doesn’t allow it and Zelenskyy, elected in 2019, had his five-year term extended because of the fighting.
Moscow also hasn’t fully backed the White House plan. While Putin has praised Trump’s peace efforts, he also noted that some parts of the plan were unacceptable for Moscow and needed more work. Kremlin officials accused Ukraine and its European allies of “worsening” the initial 28-point U.S. plan with their alterations.
