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The Kremlin connected Sunday (December 21, 2025) denied that three-way talks betwixt Ukraine, Russia and the United States were connected the cards, arsenic diplomats gathered successful Miami for talks connected ending the conflict.
A time earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said that Washington had mooted the trilateral format, which would people Moscow and Kyiv’s archetypal face-to-face negotiations successful fractional a year, but expressed scepticism that they would pb to progress.
“At present, nary 1 has earnestly discussed this initiative, and to my knowledge, it is not successful preparation,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s overseas argumentation advisor Yuri Ushakov told reporters, according to Russian quality agencies.
After revealing the U.S. three-way proposal, Mr. Zelenskyy told journalists connected Saturday (December 20) that helium was “not definite that thing caller could travel of it”, and urged the United States to measurement up unit connected Russia to extremity the war.
But the Ukrainian person struck a much upbeat enactment connected Sunday (December 21), adding that “constructive” talks betwixt U.S., European and Ukrainian negotiators were “moving astatine a reasonably accelerated pace”, portion cautioning that “much depends connected whether Russia feels the request to extremity the warfare for real”.
“Unfortunately, the existent signals coming from Russia stay lone negative: assaults on the frontline, Russian warfare crimes successful borderline areas, and continued strikes against our infrastructure,” Mr. Zelenskyy posted connected X.
Russian envoy successful town
Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev arrived connected Saturday (December 20) successful Miami, wherever Ukrainian and European teams person besides been gathering since Friday (December 19) for the negotiations, mediated by US peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Dmitriev “will instrumentality to Moscow, marque his report, and we volition sermon what to bash next”, Uskakov said.
The apical Kremlin adjutant besides told Russian journalists Sunday (December 21) that helium had “not seen” the revised U.S. connection to extremity the conflict.
Washington past period stunned Ukraine and its European allies by presenting a 28-point program to extremity the warfare wide seen arsenic caving successful to the Kremlin’s cardinal demands, which has since been redrafted pursuing Kyiv and Europe’s involvement.
While small is known of the latest version, Kyiv is apt to beryllium expected to surrender immoderate territory — a imaginable resented by galore Ukrainians — successful speech for US information guarantees.
Moscow’s troops person been steadily advancing astatine the eastbound beforehand successful caller months, with Mr. Putin connected Friday (December 19) hailing the Russian army’s territorial gains — and threatening much successful the coming weeks.
Putin-Macron call?
The past clip Ukrainian and Russian envoys held authoritative nonstop talks was successful July successful Istanbul, which led to captive swaps but small other successful the mode of factual advancement to halt the fighting.
Russian and European engagement successful Miami marks a measurement guardant from before, erstwhile the Americans held abstracted negotiations with each broadside successful antithetic locations.
But the highly strained relations betwixt the 2 sides aft astir 4 years of Europe’s bloodiest struggle since World War II person formed uncertainty implicit the imaginable of nonstop Ukraine-Russia talks.
Moscow, which sent troops into Ukraine successful February 2022, besides argues that European engagement successful the talks lone hinders the process.
According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov successful an interrogation published Sunday (December 21), Mr. Putin, however, expressed his willingness to speech with France’s Emmanuel Macron connected the conflict.
Mr. Macron held respective calls with Putin successful the run-up to and during the aboriginal months of the conflict, successful an effort to property the seasoned Kremlin person connected the war.
Mr. Putin has “expressed readiness to prosecute successful dialog with Macron”, Mr. Peskov told authorities quality bureau RIA Novosti.
“Therefore, if determination is communal governmental will, past this tin lone beryllium assessed positively.”
In response, Mr. Macron’s bureau said Mr. Putin’s stated willingness to speech was “welcome”, but stressed that immoderate treatment with Moscow would beryllium conducted “in afloat transparency” with Mr. Zelenskyy and European allies.
Meanwhile, Mr. Zelenskyy said connected X that “over the past week, Russia has launched astir 1,300 onslaught drones, astir 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and 9 missiles of assorted types against Ukraine” with the Odesa portion and the southbound of the state “hit peculiarly hard”.
Moscow connected Saturday (December 20) claimed the seizure of 2 villages successful the bluish Sumy and eastbound Donetsk regions, portion Ukraine said it had destroyed 2 Russian combatant jets successful the occupied Crimean peninsula.
