No compromise reached in Moscow on U.S. peace plan for Ukraine

A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's envoy lasted five hours but ended without clear progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.

A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's envoy and his son-in-law lasted five hours Tuesday but ended without clear progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.

Russian officials called the meeting with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow "constructive" and "productive." But neither side released details of how the talks might bridge the chasm between Russia's unwavering demands and the assurances sought by Ukraine and its frozen-out European backers.

Beforehand, Putin called Europe's attempts to influence the U.S.-led peace talks "absolutely unacceptable" and said that while he did not want war with Europe, Russia was ready for one if necessary. Sidelined European powers were meeting Wednesday at a NATO summit in Belgium, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio took the rare step of skipping the summit altogether.

Before the meeting, Kushner and Witkoff were pictured walking into the Kremlin with Russia's key negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev.Sputnik via APPutin's foreign adviser Yuri Ushakov called Tuesday's meeting “very useful, constructive” but that the sides agreed not to get into details about the negotiations.

Russian officials had reviewed a number of documents presented by the American delegation, and that some proposals "seem more-or-less acceptable, but they need to be discussed," Ushakov said.