Putin Resistant to Trump’s Ukraine Peace Plan During Meeting With Witkoff and Kushner

Latest Developments

• Accepted Some Provisions, Rejected Others: A five-hour-long meeting in Moscow on December 2 to present President Donald Trump’s plan to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without any major breakthroughs. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, “Some things were accepted [by Putin], some things were marked as unacceptable,” referring to a draft plan presented by the U.S. delegation. Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said that “compromises have not yet been found.” Ushakov participated in the meeting alongside Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, while U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner represented the American side.
• European Leaders Question Putin’s Seriousness: Following the meeting, European leaders accused Putin of feigning interest in peace. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper asserted that Putin “should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table.” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that he saw “no serious willingness on the Russian side to enter into negotiations,” while Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze accused Putin of “trying to split NATO.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was visiting Ireland, said, “We have to stop the war in such a manner that in one year, Russia would not come back with a third invasion.”
• Putin Threatens Europe: Putin gave a speech shortly before the meeting in which he harshly criticized a European counter-proposal drafted in response to the original 28-point U.S. plan. Putin accused European states of trying to undermine Trump’s peace efforts. “We can clearly see that all these changes are aimed at only one thing: to block the entire peace process altogether, to make such demands which are absolutely unacceptable to Russia,” Putin declared. Responding to Putin, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated, “Putin believes he can outlast us, but we are not going anywhere.”

FDD Expert Response

“The Kremlin remains unwilling to make the compromises necessary for a settlement Kyiv can live with. Until that changes, President Trump’s diplomatic efforts are unlikely to produce a deal, let alone one that protects U.S. and Ukrainian interests. Washington needs to work with its allies and Ukraine to maximize military, economic, and diplomatic pressure on Moscow.” — John Hardie, Russia Program Deputy Director

“Putin’s refusal of peace is transparent and sadly predictable. His aim is to pin the blame on Ukraine as the obstacle to peace, hoping that President Trump will ramp up the pressure on Kyiv. America should reject this obvious ploy by intensifying secondary sanctions on Russia while helping Ukrainians defend themselves from the Kremlin’s brutal war against them.” — Peter Doran, Adjunct Senior Fellow

“Putin has been waging a shadow war with Europe for years. Now, at least, he’s acknowledging it out loud. Through ‘new-generation warfare’ — as the Russian military calls it — Moscow seeks to deter and divide Europe below the threshold of conventional war. It is past time for NATO and the European Union to adapt their hybrid warfare doctrines to acknowledge that they are already in a hybrid war with Russia.” — Ivana Stradner, Research Fellow

FDD Background and Analysis

“Russia Continues Deadly Attacks on Ukraine Ahead of Witkoff Visit as Zelenskyy Looks to European Allies,” FDD Flash Brief

“Putin Aide Says ‘Serious Analysis’ Needed of New Trump Proposal To End Russian War on Ukraine,” FDD Flash Brief

“Fixing Putin’s plan,” by Clifford D. May

“Peace in Ukraine Unlikely Until Putin’s Calculus Changes,” by John Hardie and Keti Korkiya