The United States is charging ahead with its goals to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, but reports from the talks indicate progress is slow.
U.S. officials, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to advance negotiations to try to bring the war to an end.
Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to Putin, told reporters that the talks were productive, but much work remains to be done. Both sides agreed to not disclose details of the conversation, which lasted for about five hours.
The Trump administration has set its sights on ending the war before it reaches the four-year mark in February 2026. Peace talks have been increasing and Trump’s plan to end the war is similar to the proposal he negotiated with Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
On Wednesday, NATO members met in Brussels to affirm their support for Ukraine in the negotiations.
The meetings come just days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian officials in Florida. They also confirmed that the talks were productive.
“Much work remains, but today was, again, a very productive and useful session where I think additional progress was made,” Rubio said.
Last week, Trump cautioned the public about believing a deal was close, but it’s known that the president is pushing hard to get the deal across the finish line.
“Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” Trump wrote online last week.
The Trump proposal to end the war has sparked concern with European leaders who say the plan appeared to favor Russia. The proposal would give Putin the land it has taken from Ukraine since the start of the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted that he would not concede ground to Russia and would not limit the size of his army to end the war. The plan would also ban Ukraine from joining NATO and limit new countries from joining. That is seen as a win for Putin, who has pushed for limiting additional countries from joining the alliance.
Russia would have to commit to no future attacks on Ukraine and pledge $100 billion to rebuild Ukraine. Trump would also oversee a “Peace Council,” as is also the case in Gaza.
Shortly after the most recent round of peace talks, Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine. At least four were killed in a Russian drone attack.
While Rubio has not disclosed what negotiations will happen in the near future, Zelenskyy confirmed that his team will continue to work to end the war.
“There will be no simple solutions to ending this war. We understand what is happening. We understand who we are dealing with,” Zelenskyy wrote online.