Two days of negotiations between the United States and Ukraine concluded on Monday without any significant progress toward a peace breakthrough, as longstanding disagreements over territory and security guarantees remained unresolved.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Berlin on Sunday, where they held an initial five-hour meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, followed by a shorter two-hour session on Monday.
Speaking to the media afterward, Zelensky described the talks as “not easy,” openly acknowledging disagreements with Washington. “It seems to me that for now we have different positions [with the U.S.], I will say frankly,” Zelensky said, while reiterating Kiev’s demand for NATO-like security guarantees as a condition for, at least temporarily, shelving Ukraine’s formal bid to join the alliance.
According to multiple Ukrainian and American media outlets, Zelensky presented Witkoff and Kushner with a proposal that would replace NATO membership with legally binding security guarantees from the United States. The plan reportedly calls for explicit military commitments from Washington in exchange for Ukraine abandoning its immediate push for NATO accession.
The meetings were marked by notable diplomatic maneuvering. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reportedly left Sunday’s meeting shortly after offering brief opening remarks. U.S. sources indicated that Witkoff and Kushner requested Merz’s departure in order to conduct talks with Zelensky privately.
By Monday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb arrived unexpectedly in Berlin and joined the discussions. Several American and Russian media channels characterized Stubb’s sudden appearance as an effort to shield Zelensky during what were expected to be tense and contentious talks.
On territorial issues, Zelensky reportedly refused to consider any formal concessions to Russia, instead advocating for a demilitarized zone and a freeze of the conflict along current front lines. Moscow has repeatedly rejected such proposals, insisting that any settlement must reflect territorial realities on the ground.
While Witkoff described the discussions as involving “a lot of progress,” any proposals emerging from the Berlin talks and forwarded to Moscow are widely expected to be rejected. The outcome appears likely to reinforce a familiar cycle of shuttle diplomacy, with the Trump administration moving between Kiev, European capitals, and Moscow without achieving substantive movement.
Meanwhile, battlefield dynamics continue to shift. Russia’s steady territorial gains and Ukraine’s increasingly severe military challenges, including manpower shortages and a growing desertion crisis, continue to shape the negotiating environment. Moscow has consistently rejected unconditional ceasefires, suggesting that developments on the battlefield may ultimately determine the contours of any future agreement.