Putin-Witkoff talks constructive and substantial – presidential aide (Live Updates)

There is ‘vast potential’ for cooperation between the two parties, Yuri Ushakov has told the media

After weeks of diplomacy, the focus of the US-led peace initiative moved to the Russian capital where President Vladimir Putin welcomed US envoy Steve Witkoff for a face-to-face meeting in the Kremlin on Tuesday, where talks have now reportedly concluded after midnight local time.

They were expected to focus on the key parts of an American-backed peace framework, which initially revolved around a 28-point draft that leaked to the media last month, leaving Vladimir Zelensky’s Western European backers blindsided and sidelined.

The key questions of territory – which Zelensky has warned about in his media comments – security guarantees, NATO aspirations and restrictions on Ukraine's military, all of which are well-flagged as deal-breakers by Moscow, were expected to come up. 

Since the US initiative began, Zelensky’s inner circle has been exposed as corrupt while his forces have suffered significant territorial losses on the front line. The alleged initial peace document has also been the subject of several rounds of talks and much megaphone diplomacy.

Prior to today's talks Witkoff met a Ukrainian delegation – minus former Zelensky aide Andrey Yermak, who has been fired – in Florida for four hours, which officials  described as productive, but media sources said were “not easy,” widely assumed to refer to the question of territory. 

Although Zelensky has officially ruled out any concessions to Moscow, the discussions in the Russian capital were expected to focus on the territorial questions that have been exacerbated by Kiev’s multiple frontline setbacks, amid maximalist demands from the EU and ongoing diplomacy from the US.