Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Tuesday. Jared Kushner, former adviser to US President Donald Trump, is also expected to attend.
The meeting follows US-led negotiations in Florida between Ukrainian and US officials to refine a peace plan seen as favorable to Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the talks as “constructive,” but said key issues remain, particularly territorial concessions in eastern Ukraine, which Kyiv refuses to cede.
Witkoff has also met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Zelensky, and Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov. European leaders joined a Zelensky-Macron meeting virtually. French President Emmanuel Macron said any peace plan requires Ukrainian and European input, noting territorial issues, frozen Russian assets, and security guarantees remain unresolved.
The US-backed draft plan circulated in November was criticized for favoring Moscow and dictating terms on frozen Russian assets and Ukraine’s market access in Europe. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the plan has been refined and expressed optimism about progress.
Russia claims to have captured Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) and Vovchansk in eastern Ukraine, though Ukrainian officials and open-source monitoring indicate neither town has been fully taken.
NIM
