U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 2 as part of the U.S. effort to advance negotiations aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

Top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who took part in the talks, called the meeting "very useful, constructive, and highly substantive" but said no concrete deal was agreed upon — a statement suggesting that a final peace agreement remains far off.