On Saturday, the Kremlin hosted talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Presidential special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on ending the war in Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, the meeting behind closed doors lasted more than three hours.
“The conversation lasted more than three hours, or more precisely 3 hours and 10 minutes,” Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
According to him, Witkoff and Kushner during the meeting expressed interest in the speedy end of hostilities in Ukraine, and also formulated their thoughts on the settlement.
“American representatives have seriously prepared for this trip. They not only expressed their traditional interest in a speedy end to hostilities, but also formulated a whole series of considerations regarding possible ways of settlement,” Ushakov said.
Putin told Trump's representatives that Russia intends to achieve its goals [in Ukraine], and for a settlement it is necessary to eliminate the “root causes of the conflict,” Ushakov said. The Russian side also outlined to the Americans its assessment of the situation on the front line.
According to Ushakov, US representatives promised to take into account Putin's assessments during upcoming negotiations in Kyiv, the goal of which is to find ways to a long-term agreement to end the war.
Trump's special envoys have not yet commented on the results of the meeting in the Kremlin. Late on Saturday evening they left Moscow's Vnukovo airport and went to Ukraine for negotiations with Vladimir Zelensky.
"Useful contacts"
“Dear colleagues, I cordially welcome you to Moscow. The situation, of course, is not easy—that’s how Putin began his meeting with the American delegation, according to Russian press reports. “But before we start discussing it, I would like to ask everyone to convey our best wishes and words of gratitude to the President of the United States, Mr. Trump.”
Witkoff and Kushner's visit to Moscow is another attempt by Washington to restart the peace process aimed at ending the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II. So far, attempts by the United States and its allies to reach a peace agreement have not been successful.
Ahead of the meeting, US President Donald Trump said his son-in-law Kushner and longtime business partner Witkoff were bringing a “proposal to end the war” to Moscow and Kyiv.
“They are bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” Trump said. “We sent them there to see if we could get something done, and we might have a good chance of success.”
The essence of this proposal was not disclosed in Washington.
The meeting in Moscow took place against the backdrop of intensifying Russian air strikes on Ukraine, which have killed dozens of civilians in recent months.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Ladimir Zelensky said that Kyiv would not launch air strikes on Russia during the visit of Trump envoys, and invited Moscow to do the same.
On Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news outlets that Vladimir Putin had ordered him to stop launching strikes on Kyiv starting at midnight on September 6.
As the New York Times reported on Friday, before the visit of the US President's special envoys, Washington called on Moscow and Kyiv to temporarily stop mutual attacks.
First visit to Kyiv
Witkoff and Kushner, who were involved in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza and Iran, have visited Moscow several times as part of previous diplomatic efforts. In particular, as the NYT calculated, Witkoff met with Putin more than six times.
Witkoff and Kushner's visit to Ukraine is the first since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.
“Our goal is the most constructive, meaningful visit and negotiations with the American side. We must look for real options on how to bring this war to an end. We’ll see what proposals Steve and Jared have, and what Moscow will tell them about this,” Vladimir Zelensky said on Friday.
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