No peace without territory deal, Kremlin says after Putin–US talks

WEB DESK: Russia and the United States are set to move forward with security and economic discussions on the Ukraine war following late-night talks in Moscow, though the Kremlin has stressed that any lasting peace remains impossible without agreement on territorial issues.

Russian officials said President Vladimir Putin met three US envoys in the Kremlin shortly before midnight on Thursday, with discussions stretching for around four hours. The meeting, described by the Kremlin as frank and substantive, paved the way for fresh rounds of diplomacy, including three-way security talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States scheduled for Friday in Abu Dhabi.

Despite outlining next steps, Moscow signalled that the talks had not produced a breakthrough. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the central obstacle to a durable settlement remained unresolved, reiterating Russia’s long-held position that territorial arrangements must be settled first.

According to Ushakov, Putin emphasised during the meeting that there could be no long-term peace unless territorial questions were addressed under a framework agreed at last year’s Trump–Putin summit in Alaska. He said the Russian president expressed an interest in a negotiated solution, but added that Moscow would continue pursuing its military objectives until such an agreement was reached.

Ushakov said Russia’s armed forces retained what he described as the strategic initiative on the battlefield, underlining that military operations would continue alongside diplomatic engagement.

The announcement comes as Ukraine faces one of the harshest winters since the war began. Russian missile and drone attacks have intensified against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leading to prolonged power outages and heating shortages across Kyiv and other cities amid freezing temperatures. Ukrainian officials argue these attacks demonstrate that Moscow is not serious about peace, a claim Russia rejects, saying its military advances have come at significant cost.

Talks in Abu Dhabi and separate economic channel

Russia said Admiral Igor Kostyukov would lead its delegation at Friday’s security talks in Abu Dhabi. Separately, Kirill Dmitriev, Moscow’s investment envoy, is expected to hold discussions on economic matters with US envoy Steve Witkoff.

The Kremlin welcomed the role played by Washington in organising the meeting, with Ushakov crediting US officials for preparing the ground for the talks and expressing hope they could unlock progress across a broad range of issues related to ending the conflict.

On the Russian side, the Moscow meeting was attended by Putin, Ushakov and Dmitriev. The US delegation included Witkoff, Jared Kushner — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law — and Josh Gruenbaum, recently appointed as a senior adviser to Trump’s Board of Peace, a body tasked with addressing global conflicts.

The talks form part of Trump’s renewed push to bring an end to the war, now nearing the end of its fourth year and widely regarded as the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Trump said earlier this week that both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would be making a serious mistake if they failed to reach an agreement.

Territory remains the core dispute

Witkoff struck an optimistic note ahead of the Moscow meeting, suggesting months of negotiations had narrowed the dispute down to a single unresolved issue. While he did not specify what that issue was, Ushakov’s remarks made clear that territory remains the key sticking point.

One of Moscow’s central demands is that Ukraine cede control of territory in eastern Ukraine, including areas of the Donetsk region still held by Kyiv. Zelenskiy has repeatedly ruled out surrendering land, arguing that Ukrainian forces have defended these areas at immense human and material cost.

Russia has also insisted that Ukraine abandon its aspirations to join NATO and has opposed any deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine as part of a post-war security arrangement.

Zelenskiy said on Thursday, following talks with Trump in Switzerland, that parameters for Ukraine’s security guarantees had been finalised, but acknowledged that the territorial question remained unresolved — underscoring the scale of the challenge facing the diplomatic effort now shifting to Abu Dhabi.