5 Hour Talks w/Putin: No Compromise Reached /Lt Col Daniel Davis & Patrik Baab

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U.S. envoy Steve Wood, accompanied by Jared Kushner, held a five-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin in an effort to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. No terms or outcomes were made public, and both sides refused to discuss details—consistent with Russia’s claim that diplomacy should not be conducted openly. Western Europe is reportedly alarmed by the lack of visible progress.

Analyst Patrick Bob argues that the long, private talks are actually a positive sign, suggesting that the U.S., Russia, and China—the “three superpowers”—are negotiating major global arrangements without European involvement. He claims the Trump team broadened negotiations to include Arctic resource development, restarting Nord Stream, and unfreezing Russian assets for joint U.S.–Russia projects.

Bob portrays Europeans as “warmongers” excluded from the talks, and says the main obstacles to a settlement are within the Western camp: the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon, and European governments resisting Trump’s approach. He argues Ukraine's leadership sees continuing the war as its only survival strategy until a different U.S. administration might increase pressure on Russia.

From the Russian side, spokesman Yuri Ushakov stated only that some ideas were agreed upon, others rejected, but both sides are willing to continue working toward a long-term peace.

Bob says Russia rejects:

A Ukrainian military force of 600,000–800,000 (they want ~250,000, per 2022 Istanbul draft).

Use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine reconstruction.

Giving up territories Russia claims to have annexed.

Any NATO-linked security guarantees.

He argues Russia sees the conflict as existential and comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis, insisting on a neutral Ukraine and protection for Russian-speaking regions. He also emphasizes Russia’s demand for “denazification,” meaning removal of Zelensky’s government. According to him, the U.S. must force Zelensky out or Russia will remove him “with the feet first.”

The discussion then shifts to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who skipped a NATO meeting—interpreted as signaling U.S. independence from NATO preferences. Rubio publicly claimed Ukraine has pushed Russia back since early 2022, but Bob counters that Ukraine has suffered devastating manpower losses and is now militarily collapsing, with Russia advancing and possibly considering taking Odessa after attacks on neutral shipping.

He concludes that European leaders are deluded by their own narratives, risking Europe’s self-destruction, and that Rubio’s realism aligns more closely with the military situation.