Russia has played down the prospects for a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine, saying recent changes proposed by European countries and Kyiv to U.S.-backed peace ideas have not improved the chances of reaching a lasting settlement.
Speaking in Moscow on Sunday, Yuri Ushakov, a senior foreign policy adviser to President Vladimir Putin, said amendments pushed by Europe and Ukraine to draft U.S. proposals were unlikely to bring the conflict closer to resolution. His remarks underscore the widening diplomatic gap as multiple actors attempt to shape a framework for ending the nearly four-year-old war.
Moscow Cool on Revised Proposals
The original U.S.-drafted proposals, which surfaced in media reports last month, prompted concern in Kyiv and several European capitals amid fears they leaned too heavily in Russia’s favor. Since then, European and Ukrainian officials have held discussions with envoys from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, seeking to insert their own conditions and safeguards into the plan.
Ushakov said those efforts would not help advance peace. While noting he had not reviewed the latest text in detail, he expressed confidence that the revisions would weaken, rather than strengthen, the prospects for a long-term agreement.
“This is not a forecast,” Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian media, adding that the proposed changes do not enhance the chances of achieving durable peace.
Behind-the-Scenes U.S.–Russia Contacts
Ushakov’s comments followed talks in Florida between Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy, and senior U.S. representatives, including White House special envoy Steve Witkoff. Dmitriev also met with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, according to Russian television footage from Miami.
The meetings came shortly after U.S. officials held separate discussions with Ukrainian and European representatives. Ushakov said Dmitriev would return to Moscow to brief President Putin on what he described as “signals” conveyed by Washington following its talks with Kyiv and European partners.
Once that briefing is complete, Ushakov said, Russia will finalize its position for future contacts with the United States.
High Stakes for Europe and Ukraine
The diplomatic maneuvering highlights the broader uncertainty surrounding any potential peace deal. Key questions remain over whether Moscow would accept a negotiated end to the conflict, how Ukraine’s future security and territorial integrity would be addressed, and whether a U.S.-brokered agreement could endure without broad European backing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said over the weekend that Kyiv would support a U.S. idea for trilateral talks involving the United States, Russia, and Ukraine if it led to further prisoner exchanges and paved the way for leader-level meetings. Ushakov, however, said such a format had not been seriously discussed and was not under active consideration.
Competing Narratives
Moscow has accused European leaders of trying to derail peace efforts by attaching conditions it says Russia cannot accept. Russian officials argue that these demands are designed to block negotiations rather than facilitate compromise.
Ukraine and its European allies strongly reject that view, insisting that Russia must not be allowed to benefit from what they describe as an unlawful land grab. They argue that any settlement must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and prevent future aggression.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, escalating a conflict that began in eastern Ukraine in 2014. President Putin has framed the war as a turning point in relations with the West, accusing NATO and Western governments of encroaching on Russia’s perceived sphere of influence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
As diplomatic contacts continue behind closed doors, public statements from Moscow suggest little optimism that revised proposals from Europe and Ukraine will shift Russia’s stance in the near term.
