‘Europe’s demands are not acceptable to Russia,’ Putin says, ahead of meeting with Trump’s envoys in Moscow
An American delegation has arrived in Russia for talks with Vladimir Putin on a potential peace deal to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Shortly after 2:00 p.m. Moscow time, the plane carrying Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, landed in Moscow, according to Interfax sources. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the meeting would begin after 5:00 p.m. and would last “as long as necessary.”
Peskov added that, aside from Witkoff, the only other American participant would be Jared Kushner, the U.S. president’s son-in-law. He did not say who would join Putin on the Russian side.
Update: Ahead of the planned meeting, Putin said Europe was putting forward proposals to the peace plan that are “unacceptable to Russia.” He told reporters: “We’re not planning to go to war with Europe. But if Europe decides it wants a war and starts one, we’re ready right now.” He also said Europe “still lives under the illusion” of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.
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Witkoff is expected to brief Putin on the latest version of Donald Trump’s peace plan, the details of which were discussed in Florida on November 30 with Ukrainian representatives.
According to media reports, the Florida talks focused largely on the most contentious parts of the plan. Chief among them is the territorial issue: Ukraine maintains that any discussions about territory must begin from the current line of contact and rejects Moscow’s demand to transfer all of Donbas to Russia. It’s unclear whether the U.S. delegation put forward any compromise proposals for Kyiv to consider.
As CNN notes, neither Witkoff nor Kushner has formal diplomatic training, but Trump regards them as his most effective intermediaries. Both played key roles in the negotiations that led to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
