JAKARTA - The main foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that changes made by Europe and Ukraine to a US proposal to end the war in Ukraine did not improve the prospects for peace.
The proposal drafted by the US to end the nearly four-year-old war, which leaked to the media last month, has raised concerns in Europe and Ukraine that it is too tilted towards Russia and the US President Donald Trump's administration could push Kyiv to compromise too much.
European and Ukrainian negotiators have since met with Trump's envoys in an effort to add their own proposals to the U.S. draft, though the exact contents of the current proposals have not been revealed.
The Kremlin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow that changes made by Europe and Ukraine would not improve the chances of peace.
"This is not a forecast," Ushakov said, quoted by the Russian news agency, although he said he had not seen the exact proposal in writing, quoted by Al Arabiya (22/12).
"I am convinced that the proposals that have been put forward or are being pursued by Europe and Ukraine do not improve the document at all and do not increase the likelihood of achieving long-term peace," he continued.
Ushakov made the statement after President Putin's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, met in Florida on Saturday with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Dmitriev said talks would continue on Sunday.
The meeting in Miami follows U.S. talks on Friday with Ukrainian and European officials.
What is at stake is whether President Putin will agree to an end to the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two, Ukraine's future, the extent to which European powers are sidelined, and whether a US-brokered peace deal will last.
President Volodymyr Zelensky himself said on Saturday that Ukraine would support a US proposal for trilateral talks with the United States and Russia if it facilitated more prisoner exchanges and paved the way for meetings of national leaders.
On Sunday, he said negotiations underway in Florida to end Russia's war in Ukraine had been "constructive."
"We are moving pretty quickly, and our team in Florida has been working with the American side," he explained in a post on X.
"European representatives were also invited. These negotiations are constructive and this is important," he said.
Ukraine's leader said he had spoken to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Store, adding consultations with European partners must now take place after work in the US.
Meanwhile, Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev said separate talks between Russian and US officials "were constructive." Discussions would continue on Sunday, he added.
Moscow, December 22 - Ushakov said that the proposal for trilateral talks has not been seriously discussed by anyone and the proposal is not being worked on.
Russia itself said European leaders intend to derail peace talks by introducing conditions they know Russia cannot accept, seizing 12-17 square kilometers (4.6-6.6 square miles) of Ukrainian territory per day in 2025.
Ukraine and European leaders have said Russia cannot be allowed to achieve its goals, after what they have called an imperial-style land grab.
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