3 hours, 2 proposals: Secret Putin-Witkoff meet puts ‘direct talks’ on table. Where does Russia-Ukraine peace plan stand now?
Written By Prapti Upadhayay
Published: Apr 25, 2025, 16:23 IST | Updated: Apr 25, 2025, 16:23 IST
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World: Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the meeting lasted three hours and included a discussion on the possibility of restarting direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff held their fourth round of discussions on Friday (April 25), with the Kremlin confirming that the talks were both “constructive” and “very useful.”
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the meeting lasted three hours and included a discussion on the possibility of restarting direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. “There was a three-hour conversation that was constructive and very useful,” Ushakov said. “There was a discussion on the possibility of renewing direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine.”
He added that the talks helped narrow the gap between the US and Russia, not just on Ukraine, but on other matters as well. Productive dialogue, he said, is expected to continue at different levels.
As news of the Kremlin meeting emerged, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his calls for stronger international pressure on Russia. Posting on social media, he said that a North Korean missile was used in a recent attack on Kyiv that killed 12 civilians.
“Insufficient pressure on Russia allows them to import such missiles and other weapons and use them here, in Europe," Zelensky wrote.
He also criticised a lack of action against North Korea and its partners. “Insufficient pressure on North Korea and its allies allows them to make such ballistic missiles. The missile that killed the Kyiv residents contained at least 116 parts imported from other countries, and most of them, unfortunately, were made by US companies,” he added.
Zelensky also pointed out that it has been 45 days since Ukraine agreed to a proposal by Donald Trump for “quiet in the sky, sea and the frontline.”
“Russia rejects all this. Without pressure, this cannot be resolved. Pressure on Russia is necessary,” he said.
According to Reuters, two separate documents, one from the US and another from Europe and Ukraine, offer different perspectives on how to bring the war to an end.
Both proposals include a plan for security guarantees. However, the European and Ukrainian version goes further by suggesting a collective defence model similar to NATO’s Article 5, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all.
Only the European and Ukrainian proposal calls for the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russian-controlled areas and the exchange of all prisoners of war.
The US draft recognises Russia’s annexation of five Ukrainian regions—Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—which Steve Witkoff reportedly sees as essential to securing peace.
Both proposals back the idea of rebuilding Ukraine and providing compensation for the war. The US version doesn’t specify who would pay, but Europe and Ukraine’s plan clearly states that frozen Russian assets would be used until full compensation is delivered.