Bait & Switch Stage Two — Shooting the Breeze in Moscow

Alastair Crooke, 5 Dec 2025

President Trump’s friend, Steve Witkoff, together with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met on 2 December with President Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow.

Taking part in the meeting on the Russian side were Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev. This marked Witkoff’s sixth meeting with Putin in 2025 and Kushner’s first in-person involvement in these talks.

Reportedly, the core agenda was an ‘update’ of the US ‘talking points’ -- one that is said to have incorporated further (unspecified) input from the Ukrainians and Europeans.

Despite the redrafting, the talking points reflect a US agenda that is little changed in essence from earlier Witkoff talking points. It is, for example, again framed around a ceasefire (rather than a wider political agreement, as Russia demands); on de facto border recognition (rather than de jure recognition of the four oblasts now constitutionally incorporated into Russia).

Some possible Ukrainian concessions in the Donbas region seemingly were discussed too, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine that would be coordinated with European allies; and finally, ‘restrictions’ on Ukraine’s military capabilities (somewhat laughably ‘capped’ at 800,000 men – rather than the 2022 Istanbul ball-park figure of some 50,000-60,000).

Putin reportedly agreed that some elements of the proposal might merit further discussion, but reiterated Russia’s non-negotiable positions.