The talks to end the war in Ukraine shifted back to the U.S. this weekend, with President Vladimir Putin’s envoy calling discussions “constructive” as Washington pushes for a peace deal by Christmas.
The Kremlin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, expressed optimism in brief comments to reporters in Miami Saturday after meetings with the American negotiators. “The discussions are constructive,” he said. “They began and continued today, and will also continue tomorrow.”
It comes after negotiators from Ukraine, Europe and the U.S. said last week that Kyiv has been offered robust security guarantees, including one that would mirror NATO's Article 5 and ensure a collective response from Ukraine’s allies if Moscow ever attacks again.
The Kremlin has voiced skepticism that any of the terms agreed would be acceptable to it, and Putin’s foreign aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters Sunday changes to the peace plan sought by Kyiv and Europeans “certainly do not improve the documents or enhance the prospects for achieving long-term peace,” Russian state news agency Tass reported.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) meanwhile told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday that the U.S. negotiators were at risk of "overestimating" Putin's actual willingness to end the war as talks drag on and the conflict rages.
"I think Putin's going to continue to take the Donbas by force until we increase pressure," he told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, adding: "We keep engaging Russia, we keep trying to lure Putin to the peace table, and he rebuffs all of our efforts."
"I would go all in if Putin says no," Graham said, calling for the U.S. to give Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine and seize container ships carrying sanctioned Russian oil.
President Donald Trump has been pressuring Kyiv into a peace that would heavily favor Russia, but Ukraine has been unequivocal in refusing to give up territory that Moscow has not taken by force — something that was part of Trump’s original 28-point peace plan leaked to the media last month. The plan has since been revamped in a flurry of diplomatic engagements in European capitals and the U.S. over the last couple of weeks to make it more palatable for Ukraine, but key issues involving Kyiv’s sovereignty and territories have yet to be resolved.
“Peace is better than war, but not at any cost, because we have already paid a high price,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram Saturday. His negotiating team met with the American delegation and European officials on Friday, ahead of their meetings with Dmitriev. Zelenskyy also said Saturday that the U.S. has proposed a trilateral meeting, involving Russia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in an unexpected development, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency Ria Sunday that Putin was willing to speak directly with French President Emmanuel Macron.
It comes as Europeans have been struggling for a seat at the negotiating table, largely frozen out of talks between Washington and the Kremlin.
Peskov said any possible dialogue with the French president would have to be about “trying to understand each other’s positions,” rather than to “lecture each other.”
French news outlet France 24 reported Sunday that the French presidency welcomed the news from the Kremlin, adding that it will decide in the coming days on the best way to proceed.
Macron said last week that Europe will have to re-engage in direct talks with Putin if the latest U.S.-led efforts fail. Asked about Macron’s comment, Zelenskyy told reporters Saturday that Kyiv must “fight” for the talks to continue in their current format, led by the U.S. and supported by Europe.
Europe showed an apparent lack of unity Thursday after failing to agree on transferring billions in Russian assets, blocked in the E.U. since the full-scale invasion in 2022, to Ukraine as part of a so-called reparations loan, after threats of legal action from Russia. It agreed to provide a $105 billion loan instead to support cash-strapped Kyiv for the next two years.
Putin has made no secret of his disdain towards Europe as he has stuck to his hardline demands on Ukraine.
He has accused European leaders, whom he last week referred to as "little pigs," of trying to stall President Trump’s peace efforts while also threatening the continent with war.
On Wednesday, he voiced hope that Europe would return to the path of dialogue with Moscow, if not under the current political leadership, then with those who will replace it.
