The Kremlin says there has been no progress in recent negotiations with the US on Ukraine. Peskov contradicts Witkoff and Vance
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). PHOTO: Arina Antonova / Zuma Press / Profimedia
The latest consultations between Russia and the United States on Ukraine, held in Miami, cannot be considered a major breakthrough, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Izvestia. He specified that the meeting had a technical character, and Moscow's main objective was to obtain from the American side information about the results of recent contacts with the Europeans and Ukrainians, notes The Moscow Times.
“It's an ongoing process. I've already said that, first, there will be a fairly thorough process of working at the expert level. The most important thing was to get information from the Americans about the results of their work with the Europeans and the Ukrainians. Based on that, we will be able to determine to what extent these developments align with the spirit of Anchorage,” he said.
The American side evaluated the results of the meeting differently. US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff described the talks as productive, while US Vice President JD Vance said he had received an “update” from the participants that would indicate progress in discussing the peace plan. Commenting on these statements, Peskov said he did not know what the US vice president meant when he spoke of “progress”.
The next round of Russian-American talks has not been set yet. Earlier, Kirill Dmitriev, director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, suggested that the next meeting after the one in Miami could be held in Moscow, but Peskov said he had no knowledge of preparations for a possible return visit to Russia by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The Kremlin has also suggested that 2026 could provide an impetus for improved Russian-American cooperation. However, Peskov stressed that the American side continues to link any progress in bilateral relations mainly to the process of resolving the war in Ukraine, which it considers a priority.
The Miami talks took place on December 20–21. They were attended by the general director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev, the US presidential emissary, Steve Witkoff, and Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Before the meeting with the Russian delegation, the American representatives held consultations with the Ukrainian side. Dmitriev previously described the two-day talks in Miami as constructive.
For his part, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the two sides had a new round of talks to address “irritants” in bilateral relations, but without progress on the main issues. He suggested that the next round could tentatively take place in the spring, but no concrete dates were set.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented the preliminary results of the work of the Ukrainian delegation in Miami, stating that several draft documents on ending the war, including issues related to future legally binding security guarantees for Ukraine, were discussed with the American side. The US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff clarified that in a separate US-Ukraine meeting, the parties focused on further developing a 20-point peace plan, coordinating positions on security guarantees, including those provided by the United States, and developing a plan for economic development and reconstruction of Ukraine.
