{"id":32938,"date":"2025-12-03T07:54:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=32938"},"modified":"2025-12-03T21:33:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T19:33:42","slug":"putin-meets-trumps-special-envoy-in-moscow-for-ukraine-peace-talks-issues-stern-warnings-to-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/putin-meets-trumps-special-envoy-in-moscow-for-ukraine-peace-talks-issues-stern-warnings-to-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin meets Trump\u2019s special envoy in Moscow for Ukraine peace talks, issues stern warnings to Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

6 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian President Vladimir Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin, Moscow, on December 2, 2025, for high-stakes discussions on a possible settlement to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting, which lasted almost five hours and continued past midnight, came amid sharply escalating rhetoric from Moscow and growing concern in Kyiv and European capitals over the shape of a potential peace deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just hours before the talks began, Putin warned that Europe would face swift defeat if it chose to enter a direct conflict with Russia. He dismissed recent European counter-proposals for ending the war as \u201cabsolutely unacceptable\u201d and accused European powers of trying to sabotage the U.S.-led peace effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin reiterated that Russia has no plans to attack Europe, but also threatened that Russia is \u201cready\u201d for a military confrontation if one were to break out and there could be \u201ca situation in which there won\u2019t be anyone to negotiate with.\u201d He added: \u201cWe\u2019re not going to have a war with Europe, I\u2019ve already said. But if Europe suddenly wants to wage a war with us and starts it, we are ready right away. There can be no doubt about that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His remarks came during an investment forum in Moscow where he also threatened to expand attacks on Ukrainian ports and vessels in retaliation for strikes on tankers belonging to Russia\u2019s so-called shadow oil fleet in the Black Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. delegation\u2019s visit followed the emergence of a leaked 28-point draft peace proposal last week, which alarmed Ukrainian and European officials who said the plan conceded too much to Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The draft included limits on Ukraine\u2019s military, recognition of Russian control over large parts of the occupied territory, and guarantees that Kyiv would never join NATO. The United States has since worked with Ukraine to create what officials describe as an \u201cupdated and refined peace framework,\u201d though details have not been released publicly.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Russian<\/a>
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev meeting with U.S. President\u2019s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. (Image Credit: Kristina Kormilitsyna\/Rossiya Segodnya\/via Kremlin)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

At the start of the Kremlin meeting, Putin greeted Witkoff with a smile and asked about his and Kushner\u2019s walk through central Moscow, including a stroll across Red Square. \u201cIt is a magnificent city,\u201d Witkoff replied, according to the Kremlin\u2019s official account of the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The talks included key Russian officials such as foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, along with interpreters from both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Washington, Trump told cabinet members that U.S. negotiators were \u201cover in Russia right now to see if we can get it settled,\u201d adding that the situation was \u201cnot an easy one\u201d and that the war was causing \u201c25,000 to 30,000\u201d casualties per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been leading efforts to revise the draft peace plan in response to criticism from Kyiv and Europe, said Witkoff\u2019s mission was focused on ending the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Russia Rejects Territorial Compromise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the nearly five-hour session, Ushakov said that while the talks were \u201cvery useful and constructive,\u201d the sides remained far apart on the central issue of territorial control. \u201cSo far, we haven\u2019t found a compromise, but some American solutions can be discussed,\u201d he said. He noted that \u201ca lot of work lies ahead both in Washington and in Moscow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s core demands remain unchanged: a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO; caps on the size of Ukraine\u2019s armed forces; Russian control over the whole of the Donbas; and recognition of Moscow\u2019s authority over Crimea, Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"U.S.<\/a>
U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll sit before closed-door talks with Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak (not pictured) on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, at the U.S. Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, 2025. (Image Credit: Reuters\/Emma Farge)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Kyiv has rejected these conditions as \u201ccapitulation,\u201d arguing they would leave the country vulnerable to future aggression. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking during a visit to Dublin, said that \u201ca dignified peace\u201d must not come at the expense of Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty. \u201cThere will be no easy solutions,\u201d he said, adding that Ukraine fears Washington could eventually lose interest in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reacted sharply to Putin\u2019s threats, saying the Russian leader\u2019s comments showed he had no intention of ending the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYesterday, he said he was prepared to fight through the winter. Today, he threatens sea ports and freedom of navigation,\u201d Sybiha wrote on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian forces currently control more than 19 percent of Ukraine, about 115,600 square kilometers. an increase of roughly one percentage point from last year. After months of grinding fighting, Russia has advanced in 2025 at the fastest pace since 2022, according to pro-Ukrainian mapping data. Still, nearly four years into the invasion, Moscow has failed to seize Ukraine outright, despite its larger military and substantial resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Diplomacy Unfolds Alongside Battlefield Claims<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the diplomatic push continued, Moscow claimed on Tuesday that its forces had captured Pokrovsk, a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine\u2019s Donbas region. Putin hailed the alleged advance as a significant victory, saying it would allow Russian forces to \u201ceasily advance in any direction that the General Staff deems most promising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine denied that Russia had seized the entire city, saying its forces still held the northern part and were counterattacking in the south.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"President<\/a>
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the frontline command post of the defenders of Kupyansk during a working trip to Kharkiv region, on November 30, 2023. (Image Credit: President of Ukraine)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The U.S. estimates that more than 1.2 million people have been killed or wounded since the full-scale war began in February 2022. Neither Ukraine nor Russia publicly discloses casualty figures. The fighting has devastated cities across eastern and southern Ukraine and displaced millions of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

European governments, unsettled by the leaked U.S. proposals, have been drafting their own counter-offers to protect Ukraine from what they fear could be a punitive peace deal. They have warned that any agreement rewarding Russia for aggression could embolden Moscow and ultimately put NATO countries at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated that Ukraine must not be forced into concessions that undermine its territorial integrity. \u201cIt is important that everything is fair and open, so that there are no games behind Ukraine\u2019s back,\u201d he said in Dublin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flurry of diplomacy is expected to continue. Witkoff and Kushner may meet a Ukrainian delegation as early as Wednesday, possibly in Brussels, a senior Ukrainian official told reporters. Putin has said that the current discussions are not yet about a draft treaty but about ideas that \u201ccould be the basis for future agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the rhetoric, the gap between the sides remains wide. Putin insists Russia is \u201cready\u201d to fight Europe if necessary, while claiming not to seek war. Ukraine and its allies say Moscow\u2019s demands would formalize an imperial land grab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Washington, caught between its European partners and the Kremlin, is trying to craft a settlement that avoids appearing to reward aggression while still bringing the conflict to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Russian<\/a>
Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev meeting with U.S. President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and President\u2019s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. (Image Credit: Kristina Kormilitsyna\/Rossiya Segodnya\/via Kremlin)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russian President Vladimir Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin, Moscow, on December 2, 2025, for high-stakes discussions on a possible settlement to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[62,1,125],"tags":[442,75,357,59,49,401,20,113,702,7,22,128],"class_list":["post-32938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-news","category-united-states","tag-black-sea","tag-conflict","tag-europe","tag-nato","tag-peace","tag-putin","tag-russia","tag-security","tag-trump","tag-u-s","tag-ukraine","tag-war"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/US-Witkoff-Russian-President-Putin.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-8zg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32938"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32946,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32938\/revisions\/32946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}