Those remarks left the next step unclear: a prisoner exchange may come soon, but a security deal still depends on an end to the war and on positions that, on Donetsk and on Europe's role, have not moved.
The meetings did not close the gap on the war's central disputes. Any agreement on a peacetime security framework is contingent on the war ending, Kushner noted.
The question of what follows the fighting matters well beyond the two sides at the table. Many governments, particularly in eastern Europe, feel their security is linked to that of Ukraine.
Territory remained the hardest point. Moscow has never backed down from its demand that Ukraine relinquish the parts of Donetsk it still holds.
Kyiv wants to freeze the contact line so it can maintain control over those areas, which it says are essential to its security.
Europe's place in any settlement was also contested. Moscow has been dismissive of European involvement, although Europeans have long argued that they are central to any post-war dynamics on their continent.