Talks between Russia and the US on ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine were constructive, but much work remains, Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to PresidentVladimir Putin, told reporters on Wednesday.

Putin met US President Donald Trumps envoySteve Witkoffand son-in-lawJared Kushnerin theKremlinin talks that began late Tuesday as part of a renewed push by the Trump administration to broker a peace deal. Both sides agreed not to disclose the substance of the talks.

Ushakov called the five-hour conversation rather useful, constructive, rather substantive, but added that the framework of the US peace proposal was discussed rather than specific wording. Asked whether peace was closer or further away after the talks, Ushakov said: Not further, thats for sure.

But theres still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow. Thats whats been agreed upon. And contacts will continue, the official said.

Putins aide also said that so far, a compromise hasnt been found on the issue of territories, without which, he said, the Kremlin sees no resolution to the crisis.

Some of the American proposals seem more or less acceptable, but they need to be discussed. Some of the wording that was proposed to us doesnt suit us. So, the work will continue, Ushakov said.

There were other points of disagreement, although Ushakov did not provide further details. We could agree on some things, and the president confirmed this to his interlocutors. Other things provoked criticism, and the president also didnt hide our critical and even negative attitude toward a number of proposals, he said.

The meeting came days after US officials held talks with a Ukrainian team in Florida, which US Secretary of StateMarco Rubiodescribed in cautiously optimistic terms.

At the centre of the effort is Trumps peace plan that became public last month and raised concerns about being tilted heavily toward Moscow. The proposal granted some of the Kremlins core demands that Kyiv has rejected as nonstarters, such as Ukraine ceding the entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia and renouncing its bid to join NATO.

Negotiators have indicated the framework has changed, but its not clear how. Ushakov said several iterations of a peace plan were being discussed. The official refused to provide details, saying only: At first there was one version, then this version was revised, and instead of one document, a few more appeared.

On Tuesday, Putin accused Kyivs European allies of sabotaging the US-led efforts to end the war.

They dont have a peace agenda, theyre on the side of the war, Putin said of the Europeans.

Putins accusations appeared to be his latest attempt to sow dissension between Trump and European countries and set the stage for exempting Moscow from blame for any lack of progress. He accused Europe of amending peace proposals with demands that are absolutely unacceptable to Russia, thus blocking the entire peace process and blaming Moscow for it. He also reiterated his long-held position that Russia has no plans to attack Europe a concern regularly voiced by some European countries.

But if Europe suddenly wants to wage a war with us and starts it, we are ready right away. There can be no doubt about that, Putin said.

Read moreToo many cooks? Trumps growing army of Ukraine negotiators

Russiastarted the war in 2022 with its full-scale invasion of a sovereign European country, and European governments have since spent billions to support Ukraine financially and militarily, to wean themselves from energy dependence on Russia, and to strengthen their own militaries to deter Moscow from seizing more territory by force.

They worry that if Russia gets what it wants in Ukraine, it will have free rein to threaten or disrupt other European countries, which already have faced incursions from Russian drones and fighter jets and an alleged widespread sabotage campaign.

Trumps peace plan relies on Europe to provide the bulk of the financing and security guarantees for a postwar Ukraine, even though no Europeans appear to have been consulted on the original plan. European governments have therefore pushed to ensure that peace efforts address their concerns as well.

Coinciding with Witkoffs trip, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Ireland, continuing his visits to European countries that have helped sustain his countrys fight against Russias invasion.

Zelensky said Tuesday he was expecting swift reports from the U.S. envoys in Moscow on whether talks could move forward, after Trumps initial 28-point plan was whittled down to 20 items in Sundays talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Florida.

The future and the next steps depend on these signals. Such steps will change throughout today, even hour by hour, I believe, Zelensky said at a news conference in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Michel Martin.

If the signals show fair play with our partners, we then might meet very soon, meet with the American delegation, he said.

There is a lot of dialogue, but we need results. Our people are dying every day, Zelensky said. I am ready ... to meet with President Trump. It all depends on todays talks.

After months of frustration in trying to stop the fighting, Trump deployed officials to get traction for his peace proposals. Asked about a possible meeting between Putin and Trump, presidential aide Ushakov said it would depend on the progress of the peace effort.

The talks have followed parallel lines so far, with Rubio sitting down with Ukrainian officials. Zelensky said he met Tuesday with the Ukrainian delegation that returned from the negotiations with U.S. representatives in Florida. Rubio said those talks made progress.

Zelensky said the Florida talks took as their cue a document that both sides drafted at an earlier meeting in Geneva. TheUkrainianleader said that document was now finalized, although he didnt explain what that meant.

Read moreUS-Ukraine talks 'very productive' but more work needed, says Rubio

Ukrainian diplomats are working to ensure that European partners are substantially involved in decision-making, Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app, and warned about what he said were Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at steering the negotiations.

Zelensky met with political leaders and lawmakers in Dublin on his first official visit. Ireland is officially neutral and isn't a member of NATO but has sent nonlethal military support to Ukraine. More than 100,000 Ukrainians have moved to Ireland since Russia launched its war on February 24, 2022.

It remains unclear how envoys are going to bridge the gap between the two sides on such basic differences as who keeps what territory. European officials say the road to peace will be long.

European leaders want to make their voices heard after being largely sidelined by Washington. They are also working on future security guarantees for Ukraine.

Zelensky is under severe pressure in one of the darkest periods of the war for his country. As well as managing diplomatic pressure, he must find money to keep Ukraine afloat, address a corruption scandal that has reached the top echelons of his government, and keep Russia at bay on the battlefield.

The Kremlin late Monday claimed that Russian forces had captured the key city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Zelensky, however, said in Paris that fighting was still ongoing in Pokrovsk on Monday.

Ukraines general staff on Tuesday also denied Russias claims to have captured Poksk, calling it a propaganda stunt. The Ukrainian army is readying additional logistic routes to deliver supplies to troops in the area, the Facebook post said.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

Originally published on France24