Kremlin’s Peskov Says He Doesn’t Understand Claimed Breakthrough in Ukraine-Russia Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he does not know what US Vice President JD Vance meant when he spoke of a “breakthrough” in negotiations on Ukraine.

According to Russian media, Peskov questioned the substance of Vance’s remarks and suggested that sensitive diplomatic issues cannot be resolved publicly.

“I honestly don’t quite understand what exactly is meant,” Peskov said. 

“It is unlikely that such a complex problem can be addressed in a public format. On the other hand, perhaps with time we will receive some clarification.”

Vance said on Dec. 22 that consultations between the United States and Russia in Miami had resulted in a breakthrough on Ukraine, arguing that the main achievement was that all key issues had been “brought to the surface.”

Following weekend negotiations in Miami, Kyiv and Washington projected cautious momentum on Monday. Ukrainian officials stressed that the core draft documents are largely complete – even as they acknowledged that several provisions remain unacceptable to both sides.

US President Donald Trump, speaking Monday at an event in Palm Beach, Florida, struck a similarly general note. Asked for an update on the Ukraine-related talks that took place in Miami over the weekend, Trump offered little detail, saying only that negotiations are continuing.

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“The talks on Ukraine-Russia are going along,” Trump said, adding, “We are talking, the talks are going okay.”

Pressed on whether a trilateral meeting would be the next step – or whether he was still pushing for a Christmas Day deadline – Trump again avoided specifics. “I’ll do whatever I have to do,” he said, adding that “everyone’s tired of that war.”

Ukraine emerged from the Florida talks sounding guarded but constructive. As Kyiv’s negotiating team was returning from Miami, President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday took to social media to describe the draft texts as “quite solid and dignified,” emphasizing that all possible work on the initial documents had been completed.