STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Special envoy Steve Witkoff smiled as he strolled through Moscow's Red Square yesterday. That was on his way in to talks between Russian and American officials over the war in Ukraine.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
On the way out, it became clear the two sides did not break through to a peace agreement. They were working from a draft proposal amended by European and Ukrainian negotiators. Europeans had already rejected a plan skewed towards Russia. Coming up, we'll speak with former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith about the European perspective on all this.
INSKEEP: We go now to NPR's Eleanor Beardsley, who's covering all this from Kyiv, Ukraine. Hey there, Eleanor.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Hello, Steve.
INSKEEP: How was the meeting?
BEARDSLEY: They lasted about five hours and started three hours late because they were waiting to meet President Vladimir Putin. And that's when Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was also in attendance, got their tour of Red Square. By the way, this is Witkoff's sixth visit to Moscow. He has not visited Ukraine. The talks broke up late last night with nothing concrete. Both sides called them constructive and productive. And this morning, the Kremlin says it's ready to sit down with the Americans as many times as necessary. Actually, the most telling comments came from President Putin himself speaking separately to the media before the talks concluded. Let's listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Speaking Russian).
BEARDSLEY: He accuses the Europeans of thwarting President Trump's attempts to bring peace in Ukraine. He says they amended the document knowing it would be unacceptable to Russia just so they could block the process and blame it on Moscow. Putin also made veiled threats to Europe saying Russia didn't want war with Europe, but it was ready if Europe brought it on. And he said such a war wouldn't be, quote, "like the surgical one that Russia's conducting in Ukraine." Well, yeah. European news outlets went wild over that comment. It was the main topic on prime-time news.
INSKEEP: Well, what are the Ukrainians saying?
BEARDSLEY: Well, yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke from Ireland. He's been bathing in European support over the last few days. He was in Paris before that. Zelenskyy has agreed in principle to this amended document. He didn't comment on the negotiations but said Europe must keep the pressure on Russia. Here he is.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: So that Russia does not believe it will be rewarded for this war with stolen Ukrainian land or thousand kidnapped Ukrainian children.
BEARDSLEY: So, Steve, that's a far cry from the big business deals with Russia that President Trump has been talking about.
INSKEEP: Where does this actually leave the effort for peace, Eleanor?
BEARDSLEY: Well, Ukrainians never thought Putin would ever sign any deal. They say he doesn't want peace. He continues to bomb Ukraine and kill civilians on a near nightly basis. And I spoke with Mykhailo Samus, director of a geopolitical research network in Ukraine. He says not only will Putin never stop, but Ukraine will never give away territory in the eastern Donbas region that the Russians are demanding. He says there is no possibility of a long-term peace document. Here he is.
MYKHAILO SAMUS: All of these negotiations, only about ceasefire on the front line. No withdrawing forces from Donbas. No recognizing that Russian occupying forces will be legal on Ukrainian territory. Course not.
INSKEEP: I'd like to find out here, Eleanor, if there's a mistaken assumption. The president of the United States has assumed that Russia wants to stop the killing. He wants to. Obviously, they must. That leaked phone conversation by Bloomberg with Steve Witkoff contains in it an assumption that Russia wants to end this and the deal is obvious. That's the U.S. assumption. Has Russia shown it actually sees it that way?
BEARDSLEY: No. Putin, the dying doesn't affect him. In fact, Zelenskyy and analysts confirm this that in the month of October alone, 25,000 Russian soldiers died in Ukraine. That doesn't affect Putin. He - they hide it from the Russian public anyway. I think Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments yesterday from Washington are the most telling. Rubio said the conflict in Ukraine is not our war, and President Trump has a million other things to focus on. So there you go.
INSKEEP: NPR's Eleanor Beardsley. Thanks so much.
BEARDSLEY: You're welcome, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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