Diplomatic developments in Ukraine, the Saxony-Anhalt elections and the Rhine Community initiative

Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a cessation of strikes on Kiev for a period of three days, starting today (Saturday), as part of preparations for the visit of an American delegation.

Peskov also told TASS news agency that Putin is scheduled to meet with US special representatives Steve Witkov and Jared Kushner today.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow today to present a proposal to end the war that has been going on for more than 4 years in Ukraine, according to Agence France-Presse.

After talks in Moscow, US President Donald Trump's envoys are scheduled to head to Kiev, in the latest attempt by Washington to break the diplomatic stalemate, in the most violent conflict Europe has witnessed since World War II.

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Zelensky said: “It is clear that these Russian strikes on airports constitute a response to the discussions and preparations related to the possibility of the American side visiting Ukraine by air, and landing at Kiev or Boryspil airport.”

This will be the first visit of Trump's friend, businessman Witkoff, and his son-in-law Kushner, to war-torn Kiev, since Trump returned to the White House last year pledging to resolve the conflict.

More than three decades after Germany's 1990 reunification, persistent East-West divisions may come into stark relief in Sunday's election in the eastern province of Saxony-Anhalt.

Opinion polls indicate that the Alternative for Germany party, which is anti-immigration and has close ties to Moscow, may win an absolute majority in the provincial elections, which will allow it for the first time to form a local government, which would be a precedent for an extreme right-wing party in the history of post-war Germany.

The government's commissioner for eastern Germany, MP Elisabeth Kaiser, spoke to Agence France-Presse about the historical and cultural factors that shape the region's distinct policies.

The “Al-Rain Group” was launched in August 2026 as a private initiative that brings together about 55 prominent figures from the worlds of business, finance, economics, technology and media. It is led, as co-chairs, by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Irish entrepreneur Patrick Collison. It is worth noting in this context that the group will hold its opening sessions from September 20 to September 23 in Geneva.