Putin assesses the situation as difficult ahead of talks with American envoys

At the beginning of Saturday's meeting, Vladimir Putin said that the situation that he and American envoys would have to resolve during the talks was "difficult," Reuters reported, citing a recording published on the MAX platform.

The Russian president also talked about the current cooperation with representatives of the American authorities. He emphasized that contacts between Moscow and Washington "have always been beneficial."

Steve Witkoff conveyed Donald Trump's greetings to the Russian president. He also thanked for the ceasefire announced during the visit of the US delegation. The Kremlin host assured that Russia would do everything to guarantee the safety of the mediators.

Lunch before talks in the Kremlin

Before the meeting with Putin, Witkoff and Kushner were scheduled to talk for three and a half hours over lunch with Kirill Dmitriev, an adviser to the Russian leader, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported.

American negotiators have been involved in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine since 2025. During this time, they visited Moscow several times, where they met, among others, Putin. Sunday's visit to Kiev is expected to be their first trip to the Ukrainian capital as part of these negotiations.

A three-day break in attacks

Due to the talks, Putin ordered to suspend attacks on Kiev for three days, until Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that if Russia keeps its declaration, Ukrainian forces will not attack Moscow at that time.