Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Wednesday that Ukraine’s NATO membership bid was “one of the key questions” in Tuesday’s negotiations with the US in Moscow.
Ushakov, who took part in Tuesday’s talks with Washington’s Russia envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, also claimed the US team had agreed to factor in the Russian positions presented at the meeting, according to Russian state media Ria Novosti.
Ushakov confirmed at a press briefing that Kyiv’s NATO membership – the blocking of which remains an official Kremlin war goal and also listed in the current peace draft – was discussed but gave no details, according to AFP.
Ushakov also claimed that recent Russian battlefield gains influenced the talks.
“The progress and nature of the negotiations were influenced by the successes of the Russian army on the battlefield in recent weeks,” Ushakov said according to AFP.
“Our Russian soldiers, through their military exploits, have helped make the assessments of our foreign partners regarding the paths to a peace settlement more appropriate,” he added.
Russia claimed on Monday that its armed forces have captured the city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, ahead of Tuesday’s discussion between Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin – though the fighting is ongoing as of Wednesday, a day after the talks.
By the end of November, Russia controlled 19.3 percent of Ukraine’s territory, either fully or partially.
Soon after Tuesday’s talks, Ushakov previously said that Russia and the US reached “no compromise” in almost five hours of discussions, though he described the negotiations as “constructive, very useful and substantive.”
A planned meeting in Brussels between Witkoff and President Volodymyr Zelensky after the Moscow talks was also scrapped, reportedly at the Kremlin’s request.
Before Tuesday’s Moscow talks, an anonymous Russian official reportedly told NBC News that there were “three pillars” on which Moscow would not compromise: Russian annexation of Donbas, a cap on the Ukrainian military, and Western recognition of Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian lands.
Kyiv has ruled out ceding the Donbas, with Zelensky saying the issue would be addressed in direct talks with US President Donald Trump. A senior Ukrainian defense official also said a cap on Ukraine’s military was not discussed during the initial round of talks before the revised plan was brought to Moscow.