Kremlin Calls It 'Premature' to Say Ukraine Peace Deal Is Imminent as Talks, Transcripts Raise Questions

The Kremlin tempered hopes on Wednesday that a peace agreement to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine is close. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters it was "premature" to declare that the situation was nearing a resolution.

Peskov also warned that actors in other countries, including the United States, "will try to derail these peaceful developments" in response to leaks from the negotiations.

A Kremlin aide, Yuri Ushakov, offered a more measuredly optimistic view, saying some elements of a U.S.-backed proposal "can be viewed positively, but many require special discussions among experts." Ushakov confirmed Moscow had received a revised text after high-level talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials, but said Russian representatives had not yet met their American counterparts to review it.

"We have not discussed it with anyone yet because it really requires serious analysis, serious discussion," Ushakov said.

Translated transcripts of private conversations have circulated in recent days. In one exchange, an economic adviser to the Russian president, Kirill Dmitriev, suggested Russia would seek the "maximum" of its demands. Dmitriev told Ushakov that he would "make this paper from our position" and pass it along informally, acknowledging the other side might not accept Moscow's exact wording but could approach it.

"No, look. I think we'll just make this paper from our position, and I'll informally pass it along, making it clear that it's all informal," Dmitriev said. "I don't think they'll take exactly our version, but at least it'll be as close to it as possible."

Other leaked transcripts record a phone call in which U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff appeared to coach Ushakov on framing negotiations and discussed possible territorial trade-offs. Witkoff reportedly suggested that securing Donetsk — and perhaps a land swap — could be part of what it would take to reach a deal, while urging a more optimistic public tone.

President Trump told reporters that Witkoff will travel to Moscow next week to meet President Vladimir Putin to discuss the proposal. Trump defended the tone of the private calls, calling Witkoff a "dealmaker" and saying negotiating parties must present positions in a way that secures concessions from the other side.

Separately, a U.S. official and Ukraine's national security adviser, Rustem Umerov, said a common understanding on a proposal had been reached between Kyiv and Washington, with particulars still to be finalized. That account appears to contrast with the Kremlin's more cautious public stance.

Mr. Trump later wrote on social media that the original 28-point plan drafted by the United States had been "fine-tuned" and that most issues had been narrowed, with negotiators reducing the list to around 22 points. He said the goal of upcoming talks is to finalize the plan and that Russia's principal concession would be to stop fighting and refrain from seizing additional territory.

Earlier this month a draft version of a U.S.-backed proposal circulated that included provisions Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously rejected, such as ceding all of the Donetsk region — including areas not under Russian control — and abandoning Ukraine's bid to join NATO. Those elements remain highly contentious and would require major concessions from Kyiv.

For now, Moscow's insistence on careful analysis, Kyiv's reported conditional agreement on a framework, and the emergence of private transcripts all suggest negotiations remain fragile. Key questions remain about territorial compromises, security guarantees and the sequencing of any deal.