10 h. ago Steve Witkoff to meet Ukrainian officials after fruitless talks with Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump’s special envoy to brief Kyiv’s chief negotiators on Kremlin meeting

Politics

13 h. ago US envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Ukraine national security chief in Miami

Meeting comes two days after Witkoff and Jared Kushner held five hours of talks with Vladimir Putin in MoscowAnalysis: Ukraine peace deal has stumbled yet againThe US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Ukraine’s national security council chief, Rustem Umerov, in Miami on Thursday as Washington steps up its diplomatic push to secure a pathway to peace in Ukraine.Witkoff, accompanied by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, spent nearly five hours in talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday. Moscow later said the meeting had not brought the sides any closer to a peace agreement. Continue reading...

Events

20 h. ago Europe is holding the line against Trump’s and Putin’s plans for Ukraine. But it won’t be able to for ever | Martin Kettle

In the 21st-century imbalance of power, Europe and Nato have neither the arms nor the wealth to impel Russia or the US to take its peace settlement seriouslyThe failure of this week’s peace talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff fits into a now well-established pattern of standoffs on Ukraine during Trump’s second term. But the dynamic that produced these talks may be becoming more entrenched. The US and Russian interests driving the process have not changed, while the conflict on the ground is intensifying. The lack of progress this week means there will be another attempt to end the war soon, and perhaps another after that, until, one day, there is some kind of US-backed deal to halt the conflict on terms broadly favouring Russia.The geopolitical algorithm driving this effort is too consistent to ignore. It has been repeated ever since Trump re-entered the White House in January. On the campaign trail, Trump had claimed he could stop the war in a day. ...

Politics

32 h. ago Nato hits back at Putin’s threat of war in Europe as UK condemns ‘Kremlin claptrap’

Rhetoric between Russia and Europe has ramped up after talks between Donald Trump’s envoy and Vladimir Putin failed to reach an agreement

Events

37 h. ago 'Aggressor' Vladimir Putin is dragging his feet over peace talks for Ukraine, says Keir Starmer at PMQs

‘Compromises have not yet been found,’ on peace discussions says Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy aide - but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says ‘some progress’ was made

Politics

46 h. ago Russia ‘ready’ for war if Europe starts it, Putin says, as US peace talks end without progress

Kremlin aide says Ukraine crisis is no closer to resolution after Witkoff talks, as Russian president accuses European powers of sabotaging peace Russia and the US did not make progress toward a peace deal for Ukraine during their talks, a senior aide to Vladimir Putin has said, hours after the Russian president issued threats that Russia was ready for war with Europe.In remarks to Russian media, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that after a five-hour meeting with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the two sides were “neither further nor closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There is a lot of work to be done.” Continue reading...

Politics

51 h. ago Russia ‘ready’ for war with Europe, Putin says, as US peace talks end without progress

Kremlin aide says Ukraine crisis is no closer to resolution after Witkoff talks, as Russian president accuses European powers of sabotaging peace Russia and the US did not make progress toward a peace deal for Ukraine during their talks, a senior aide to Vladimir Putin has said, hours after the Russian president issued threats that Russia was ready for war with Europe.In remarks to Russian media, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that after a five-hour meeting with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the two sides were “neither further nor closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There is a lot of work to be done.” Continue reading...

Politics

59 h. ago Trump's envoys Witkoff and Kushner arrive for Putin talks in Moscow

Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow ahead of talks with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

Politics

64 h. ago Watch live: Putin meets Trump envoy for crunch Ukraine talks

Watch live as Vladimir Putin meets Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff for talks in Moscow on Tuesday, 2 December.

Politics

68 h. ago Ukraine war live: Trump envoy Steve Witkoff set to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow amid US push for peace deal

Talks come after Witkoff led US discussions with Ukraine at weekend amid European concerns that Kyiv will be pressured to make concessions to MoscowUS-Russia talks may pile pressure on Kyiv to make concessions, says EU foreign policy chief See all our Ukraine war coverageThe Kremlin has said Vladimir Putin will meet Steve Witkoff for their talks on Tuesday afternoon. It’s now approaching 9.10am local time in Moscow.Their meeting would take “in the second half of the day”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, while refusing to be drawn on Russia’s red lines, saying megaphone diplomacy was not helpful.Russian military commanders told Putin in comments reported on Monday that Russian forces had captured the frontline Ukrainian towns of Pokrovsk – a key logistics hub – and Vovchansk and were advancing elsewhere, which the Russian president hailed as successes to enable further gains. Ukrainian officials have made no acknowledgement that either place has fallen into Russian hands. Co...

Politics

3 d. ago US and Russian demands for Ukrainian territory is ‘toughest part of peace negotiations’, says President Zelensky

US and Russian demands to give Moscow swathes of Ukrainian territory are “the most difficult” part of peace talks, President Zelensky revealed yesterday. He was speaking after marathon meetings with France's President Macron, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US envoy Steve Witkoff – who is due to meet Putin in Moscow today. Zelensky said: “The...

Politics

3 d. ago Zelenskyy to meet Macron, as US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner head to Moscow – Europe live

Ukrainian president embarks on busy week of diplomacy as US ups pressure to end warArriving at the ministerial meeting in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said this week could be “pivotal” for diplomacy on Ukraine.“It is clear that Russia does not want peace, and therefore we need to make Ukraine as strong as possible in order to them to be ready to stand up for themselves in this very, very difficult time,” she said. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Ukrainian and US officials meet in Florida to discuss proposals to end Russia’s war

Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner meet Kyiv delegation, after another weekend of deadly Russian attacks in UkraineUkrainian negotiators are meeting with US officials in Florida to thrash out details of Washington’s proposed framework to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, as Kyiv faces pressure on military and political fronts.The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, are sitting down with a Ukrainian delegation on Sunday before planned US talks this week in Moscow with Vladimir Putin.Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Ukrainian and US officials to meet in Florida to discuss proposals to end Russia’s war

Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner expected to meet Kyiv delegation, after another weekend of deadly Russian attacks in UkraineUkrainian negotiators are preparing to meet US officials in Florida to thrash out details of Washington’s proposed framework to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, as Kyiv faces pressure on military and political fronts.The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, are expected to sit down with a Ukrainian delegation on Sunday before planned US talks this week in Moscow with Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Hungary's Viktor Orbán to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin in Moscow for energy talks

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is visiting Moscow for energy talks with Vladimir Putin

Politics

9 d. ago US to send envoy to Moscow to discuss proposals to end Ukraine war

Despite recent efforts and White House optimism, recent negotiations have failed to secure a breakthrough on key issuesDonald Trump said he would send special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss developing proposals to end the Ukraine war, but despite White House optimism there was little sign of progress on core sticking points.The US president said negotiations had left “only a few remaining points of disagreement” but there was no breakthrough on the issues of territorial control and security guarantees and he dampened expectations of immediate peace summits. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Trump’s Ukraine peace plan is a gift to Putin | Kenneth Roth

The plan would leave Ukraine’s democracy in jeopardy and its sovereignty compromisedFor a moment, Donald Trump seemed to have seen the light on Ukraine. After promising “severe consequences” in August if Vladimir Putin continued to obstruct ceasefire talks – but then doing nothing as Putin did just that – Trump finally on 22 October imposed significant sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, seriously compromising Putin’s ability to finance his invasion. But now, with his 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, drafted by US and Russian officials without Ukrainian or European participation, Trump has reverted to his pro-Putin norm.Trump’s plan would reward Putin for invading Ukraine while leaving Ukraine’s democracy in jeopardy. The plan’s ringing proclamation that “Ukraine’s sovereignty will be confirmed” rings hollow when so much of the plan compromises that sovereignty. A Kremlin dream, the plan would be a Ukrainian nightmare.Kenneth Roth, former executive d...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump envoy plans summit with Hamas chief who masterminded Oct. 7 massacre

President Trump's Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff, is preparing to meet with the Chief negotiator of Hamas.

Politics