Russia also reported that talks were tough, after Wednesday’s meeting lasted for only two hours — following a marathon six-hour session on Tuesday.
“Negotiations were difficult, but businesslike. A new meeting with Ukraine will be held in the near future,” said Putin’s negotiator Vladimir Medinsky after the meeting.
Witkoff said the dialogue alone should be celebrated as a success belonging to U.S. President Donald Trump, but admitted the sides are still just talking rather than agreeing.
This round of talks was not actually “that good,” a person familiar with the atmosphere in the room told POLITICO. The sides came to the table expecting different things and talks were “confusing” in many ways, said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss private talks.
Indeed, before the negotiations started, Russia’s delegation announced that the meetings would be focused on territorial issues, while the Ukrainian delegation said it was planning to discuss humanitarian and security issues.
“We are focused on working through the key provisions necessary to finalize the process. This is complex work that requires agreement by all parties and time. There is progress, but no details at this stage,” Ukrainian Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov said in a statement Wednesday.
“The next step is to reach the necessary level of alignment to submit the developed decisions for consideration by the presidents. Our task is to prepare a real, not a formal, foundation for this. The ultimate goal remains unchanged — a just and sustainable peace,” he added.