Putin refused to discuss the U.S. peace plan for Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to discuss the Ukraine peace proposal presented by U.S. President's special envoy Steve Witkoff. According to Financial Times, Putin was not even willing to talk about the 22-point peace plan developed by Washington, Kyiv, and European officials.

The plan was supposed to be discussed during Witkoff’s visit to Moscow on April 25. However, Russian authorities informed Witkoff that Putin did not want to consider the proposal. Later, the plan was reviewed in a video call involving Ukrainian President’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and U.S. officials Marco Rubio and Keith Kellogg.

Following Putin’s rejection, Witkoff canceled his planned meeting with the Russian president for the week of May 12–16. Since early 2024, Witkoff has met with Putin four times, but no new meeting is currently scheduled.

Financial Times noted that Putin’s unwillingness to engage in meaningful peace talks has become apparent even to those who previously sympathized with him. One day earlier, on May 16, Donald Trump commented after the Istanbul talks:

“I think we can reach a deal with Putin. I believe he’s tired. He doesn’t look good, but he wants to look good.”

Meanwhile, The New York Post criticized Witkoff’s diplomatic approach, stating that on April 25, he attended the meeting with Putin alone, without advisors or military experts. One source described him as “a nice guy, but an awkward fool who shouldn’t be doing this alone.”

Zamin.uz editorial note:
If high-level political leaders can’t even hold a serious dialogue, what can peace negotiations really achieve? What does this say about Russia’s true stance on talks? What’s your opinion? Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!