No Ukraine compromise reached after five-hour Putin talks with Trump envoys

Russia and the US did not reach a compromise on a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine after a five-hour Kremlin meeting between President **Vladimir Putin** and Donald Trump's top envoys, the Kremlin announced on Wednesday. The talks in Moscow between Putin, Trump's special envoy **Steve Witkoff**, and son-in-law **Jared Kushner** stretched past midnight. Afterward, Putin's top foreign policy aide, **Yuri Ushakov**, acknowledged that "Compromises have not yet been found. There is still a lot of work to be done."Despite the lack of a breakthrough, Ushakov described the talks as **constructive**, noting huge opportunities for US-Russian economic cooperation. He added that Putin reacted negatively to some US proposals, and that Witkoff proceeded to the US embassy in Moscow after the talks to brief the White House. Ushakov also clarified that a meeting between Putin and Trump was not currently planned.Ushakov confirmed that a key topic of discussion was the **"territorial problem,"** Kremlin shorthand for Russian claims to the whole of Donbas. He noted that the sides had discussed this area, of which Ukraine still controls at least $5,000$ square km ($1,900$ square miles), a region that almost all countries recognize as part of Ukraine."Some American draft proposals look more or less acceptable, but they need to be discussed," Ushakov said. "Some of the formulations that have been proposed to us are not suitable for us, that is - the work will continue."He added that Putin had sent a series of important signals and his greetings to Trump, but the sides had agreed not to disclose details to the media, ensuring the lack of compromise does not mean the parties are any **further away from peace**.The talks come as Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration that ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two has been an elusive foreign policy aim of his presidency. Ukrainian President **Volodymyr Zelenskyy** has previously warned against dealing behind Ukraine's back as the US attempts to broker a peace agreement.