“So far, no compromise version of a peace settlement has been found,” was how Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to Vladimir Putin, summed up the five-hour meeting between the Russian President and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday. That’s no surprise: Putin has never negotiated in good faith since his first invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Instead, he has consistently demanded maximalist aims to secure Ukrainian territory and erase its sovereignty.

While details of the Kremlin talks are only beginning to emerge , it appears Putin again offered nothing on the key issue of territory, meaning the location of a cease-fire line, and security for Ukraine. After much diplomatic drama, U.S. negotiators are leaving the Kremlin with little.

How did we get here and what’s next?

Since the star

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