On Saturday, U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss the war in Ukraine. The talks, which went for over three hours, do not appear to have produced a breakthrough, although the Kremlin and Russian media described the meeting positively.
“In any case, whatever happens, such contacts are undoubtedly always useful,” Putin said. A Russian envoy closely involved in negotiations with the U.S. called it an “important peacemaking visit.”
So far there has been no comment on the talks’ results from the White House. President Trump said Friday that his envoys were “bringing with them a proposal to end the war.”
Witkoff and Kushner will reportedly travel on to Kiev Sunday, where they are expected to hold talks with Ukrainian representatives. (Although both men have been to Moscow for negotiations several times previously, the Kiev visit will be a first.)
Ahead of the U.S. envoys’ arrival, Putin declared a 72-hour pause on Russian attacks against the Ukrainian capital (though not, apparently, other parts of the country). The visit—which follows an unusual trip to Moscow by CIA director John Ratcliffe last week—suggests the Trump administration is renewing its efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, following months of relative diplomatic stasis.
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