MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has been briefed about contacts with President Donald Trump’s envoys on US proposals for a possible Ukrainian peace deal and Moscow will now formulate its position, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly complained that ending the Ukraine war has been the most elusive foreign policy aim of his presidency.

Ukraine and its European allies are worried that Trump could sell out Ukraine and leave European powers to foot the bill for supporting a devastated Ukraine after Russian forces took 12-17 square km of Ukraine per day in 2025.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that envoy Kirill Dmitriev had briefed Putin on the trip to Miami for contacts with Trump’s envoys.

But Peskov refused to be drawn on Russia’s reaction to the proposals, or the exact format of the documents, saying that the Kremlin was not going to communicate via the media.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in remarks to reporters released by his office on Wednesday, said Ukrain­ian and US delegations had inched closer to finalising a 20-point plan at the talks over the weekend in Miami.

“This is a document referred to as a framework a foundational document on ending the war, a political document bet­ween us, America, Europe, and the Russians,” Zelenskiy said.

But Zelensky said Ukraine and the United States had not found common ground on demands that Ukraine cede the parts of Donbas that it still controls — or on the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is controlled by Russian forces.

The Ukrainian president called for a meeting with Donald Trump to hammer out the most sensitive issues in a future peace deal with Russia, such as control of territory, following the latest round of US-Ukrainian talks.

“We are ready for a meeting with the United States at the leaders’ level to address sensitive issues. Matters such as territorial questions must be discussed at the leaders’ level.”

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2025