Russia rejects peace talks reports

December 22, 2025

Russia has formally rejected media reports claiming that trilateral peace talks involving the United States, Ukraine and Moscow were underway over the war in Ukraine, according to statements from the Kremlin and Russian diplomats. The Kremlin insists that while contacts with the United States continue, there is no official process of three-way negotiations with Ukraine at this stage, putting fresh doubt on recent peace-process rumours.

The latest round of discussions between U.S. and Russian officials has taken place in Miami and Florida, where U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev to talk about a broader plan to end the nearly four-year conflict. Moscow described those talks as constructive, but made clear it was not agreeing to sit down at a formal three-party table with Ukraine present.

According to multiple reports, media speculation about a planned trilateral summit — involving U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — was inaccurate. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said there were no agreements between Moscow and Washington on such a meeting and that press reports about it did not reflect any official understanding.

Moscow has instead focused on bilateral diplomatic contacts with the United States, insisting that negotiations must be properly sequenced and based on mutual trust and clear parameters. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also rejected claims that Moscow had received any formal peace negotiation communication from Washington in recent weeks, saying such media narratives did not reflect official channels of dialogue.

Despite the rejection of trilateral talks in public statements, some diplomatic efforts are ongoing. Russian and U.S. envoys are continuing to discuss a peace framework for the Ukraine war, and both sides have publicly described aspects of these contacts as constructive. Still, major disagreements remain over key demands, such as territorial control and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and his government have expressed conditional support for a U.S.-led three-way talks format — but only if those discussions can make concrete progress, such as prisoner exchanges or high-level meetings potentially leading to a summit. Ukraine has also stressed that any peace outcome must preserve its territorial integrity, rejecting proposals that would require ceding land.

The backdrop to these diplomatic nuances is the broader, grinding war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and has since hardened positions on both sides. Russian officials continue to emphasize their strategic objectives, while Ukraine remains steadfast in demanding security guarantees and rejection of territorial concessions.
In this context, the Kremlin’s move to deny reports of trilateral peace talks reflects both Moscow’s caution about formalising negotiations that include Kyiv and the ongoing complexity of diplomatic efforts to find a negotiated settlement to one of Europe’s deadliest conflicts in recent years.