Negotiations between Moscow and Washington stall over peace plan disagreements

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov emphasized that the next round of negotiations could theoretically take place in early spring, but no concrete date has been set yet. Moscow and Washington have previously met twice to eliminate “mutual irritants” in their relationship. The last of these meetings occurred on April 10 in Istanbul.

Ryabkov did not provide details regarding when or where the previously unannounced third meeting took place.

Negotiations halted at the US initiative

A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the consultations were canceled at the initiative of the American side. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that dialogue with the US is continuing but “not progressing at the desired speed.”

Moscow is handling issues such as the full-capacity operation of embassies, the return of Russian diplomatic property in the US, and the resumption of flights between the two countries in parallel with negotiations aimed at ending the Ukraine war.

However, no concrete results have been achieved in this process yet. The parties are evaluating a peace plan—originally consisting of 28 points but reduced to 20 following Washington’s consultations with Ukraine.

No progress achieved in the peace plan

On the other hand, the Kremlin announced that no breakthrough occurred during the meeting held in Miami between Russian Presidential Special Representative Kirill Dmitriev and US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to demand that Kyiv withdraw from the Donbas and abandon its bid for NATO membership to end the conflict. Despite the US insistence on territorial concessions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected this option as unacceptable. Zelenskyy also demanded security guarantees from the US against a potential new attack by Russia.