Are Putin, Trump and Zelensky any closer to making peace in Ukraine? | Global News Podcast

This is the Global News Podcast from the. BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver. Conway. And today, is peace in Ukraine any closer? President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff. and Jared Kushner have been meeting. Vladimir Putin in Moscow after what they. called productive peace talks in Abu. Dhabi. >> It was clear that it was purposeful, that people were trying to find. solutions to this. >> The Russian leader says he wants peace. in Ukraine to last forever, but has he. softened any of his demands? We'll ask.

our Russia editor. >> The issue of territory is the biggest. stumbling block here. >> And we hear from our Ukraine analyst. >> The key question is, does that mean that. Russia and Ukraine can work on other. issues such as lasting peace? >> After a nine-month gap, negotiations to. end the war in Ukraine have intensified. over the past few days. President. Trump's envoy Jared Kushner and Steve. Witkoff have traveled to Moscow to brief.

Vladimir Putin about their talks with. Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu. Dhabi. They're hoping to persuade the Russian. president to allow the Europeans to join. negotiations. Mr. Putin said he would like peace in. Ukraine to last forever. While the talks were going on, we got an. update from our Russia editor, Steve. Rosenberg. >> Let me tell you what I've sort of noted. so far. So, um Vladimir Putin was. talking about foreign troops in Ukraine.

He said foreign troops would be a. legitimate target for Russian forces. They threaten Russia's national. security, he said. That seems to be. uh the Kremlin leader opposing the idea. of European peacekeepers in Ukraine. after any potential peace deal. No. change in that position. He's expressed. that view before. Uh at one point he said that Russia. would like America to work with Europe. and would like Europeans to what they.

want, war or peace. Now, does that mean that Vladimir Putin. doesn't accept the idea yet of the. Europeans being at the table during. negotiations? Um, perhaps not. We know that Steve. Whitcoff at these talks said, we hope. that following today's negotiations it. will be possible to announce a new round. of talks in which Europe would take. part. The other thing that I noted, Vladimir Putin talking about territory. said for Russia there is only one.

demarcation line, if you like, the state. border. Now, perhaps that suggests to me. that he's saying um he still wants all. of the Donbas. You know, the. the issue of territory is the biggest. stumbling block here. Uh, Ukraine does. not want to hand over to Russia the. parts of the Donbas, Ukrainian territory. that Russia has not been able to conquer. militarily in nearly five years of war. Russia demands that Ukraine hand over. the rest of the Donbas.

um to to to Russia and this is a remains. a stumbling block, I think. >> After the talks with Vladimir Putin, the. US envoys are due to meet the Ukrainian. President Vladimir Zelenskyy at a. European summit in Dublin. But has there. actually been any concrete progress? I. asked Vitaly Shevchenko, chief analyst. at BBC Monitoring. >> Nothing that I've heard suggests that. all these conversations, all these. meetings, all these statements have.

brought the prospect of peace any closer. or. have tamed Russia's appetites. Uh, what. Vladimir Putin is saying falls roughly. within, you know, what he's been saying all. these years. He he just said that Russia. uh rejects the presence of foreign. troops. um in in Ukraine. And when he says uh. that Russia wants. uh eternal peace in Ukraine, my reading of it is that this is going.

to be peace on his terms. Everything. else, uh, the territorial claims, the. insistence that. uh, Ukraine stays out of security. alliances such as NATO, it's just the. same. >> And what about Vladimir Putin's proposal. for a new localized ceasefire to. evacuate the occupied city of. Konstantinivka? >> It is good news for all the people. involved. It's a sign that Ukraine and. Russia can work together.

Um, they have been able to arrange that, uh, a few weeks ago in Oleshky for the south. in Kherson region. But the key question is, does that mean. that Russia and Ukraine can work on. other issues such as lasting peace? And. the answer to that is. um, a resounding no, I think, to to to. to listen to what the Russian. uh, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. has been saying. It clearly suggests.

that Russia still wants to to to crush. Ukraine. He said that during the talks. in Abu Dhabi yesterday and the day. before, Russia floated once again the. proposals for European security that it. first made back in. 2020 when. And let's have a look at. those proposals. Back then, Russia. demanded that NATO withdraw from the. whole of Eastern Europe, Baltic states,

Balkans, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and so on. That is clearly not going to work. That. is such an, uh, unfulfillable demand at. this stage and to me it suggests that. Russia is not going to compromise on any. of those issues. >> Now Jared Kushner has said the US has. begun talking to the Europeans about a. new European security architecture. Is. this the same thing?

>> I would say so. Um, my my question would. be why the need for a new or broader, as. Jared Kushner puts it, security architecture in in Europe? Because over. decades. Europe and Russia and the Soviet Union. before that, they worked together to. work out precisely these arrangements, which. clearly imply that Russia shouldn't. invade other countries. And the European.

foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, she. said a couple of days ago that, you. know, we have security arrangements in. place and any. suggestions that they need to be. reviewed, I would say. it would benefit Russia, especially if. it's still saying, look, we want NATO to. withdraw from from Eastern Europe. That's such a maximalist demand. And if you were to take a step back and. have a look at.

what these talks spearheaded by the. United States over almost. two years now, what they've achieved, I don't think they've achieved much. apart from emboldening Vladimir Putin. Clearly, he's not said or done anything. that would suggest he is. prepared to hold back in Ukraine. And as. far as negotiations and. any agreements go, the. the most important.

criteria of success is whether fewer. people are dying. And they're not. In. fact, we're seeing record numbers of. civilian casualties in Ukraine. According to the UN, in September. they shot up by 85%. over September 2025. So this clearly. suggests that. the talks that we've seen so far, they aren't really working. >> And just to explain to us why the.

Europeans are so keen to get involved in. these negotiations and Russia's position. on this? >> So far, >> Russia and the United States, the way they've acted, what they've. done, and what officials in Moscow and. Washington have said, uh it portrayed them as allies, really. So much pressure has been put on on. Kyiv. And during this time, it's Europe. that has been Ukraine's most steadfast.

ally and uh supporter. The problem for. Ukraine is though. that uh. Europe quite simply is not as rich as. the United States, not as militarily. capable as the United States. And when. or if. uh European representatives sit down at. the negotiating table, this will be a relief for Ukraine. because it would make it easier for. Ukrainian negotiators to push back.

against Russia and American pressure. But the problem is I don't think mere. words are going to to work. For Vladimir Putin to stop, he needs to. be given a reason to stop. And so far, all the reasons that have been given to. him, they've they've clearly failed. >> And that's all for now, but there's much. more on the day's main stories in the. audio version of the Global News Podcast. wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd. like to get in touch, the contact.

details are below. I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time, goodbye.