Ukrainian Officials Head To Brussels, Miami For Peace Talks As Putin Doubles Down On Demands

"Ukrainian negotiators were set to meet with European officials in Brussels, and later US officials in Florida, days after a five-hour Kremlin meeting with a visiting White House delegation where President Vladimir Putin doubled down on his hard-line conditions to end the war on Ukraine. Ahead of the December 4 meetings, Putin repeated longstanding sweeping demands on Ukraine's sovereignty and military force in an interview with India Today."

""It all comes down to this: Either we liberate these territories by force or Ukrainian troops leave these territories and stop fighting there," Putin told the channel in a pre-recorded interview released on the eve of his trip to India. White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, met with Putin and other top officials at the Kremlin on December 2 in the latest round of shuttle negotiations to try and find an agreement to end Russia's all-out invasion."

"The visit by the US delegation came almost two weeks after a US-drafted peace plan seen as heavily favorable to Russia was released. The plan echoed most if not all of the inflexible demands Moscow has made of Ukraine since before the February 2022 invasion. Ukrainian officials and Kyiv's European allies have since scrambled to try and craft an acceptable alternative."

Ukrainian negotiators were scheduled to meet European officials in Brussels and later US officials in Florida after a five-hour Kremlin meeting in which President Vladimir Putin reiterated hard-line conditions to end the war. Putin demanded either Russian liberation of contested territories by force or Ukrainian troop withdrawal. A US delegation led by envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Putin on December 2 as part of shuttle diplomacy. The US had circulated a peace plan seen as favorable to Russia, prompting Ukraine and European allies to develop alternatives. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov called the talks constructive but said no compromise was found.

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