US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have held talks with President Vladmir Putin in Moscow, in what appears to be new efforts by the Trump administration to end the Russia-Ukraine war. US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the envoys were bringing “a proposal to end the war” – Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II – and a senior Russian official said it was an “important peacemaking visit”. Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and Witkoff, the US special envoy, are expected to arrive in Kyiv on Sunday, reviving diplomacy when both countries have escalated attacks.
Both Moscow and Kyiv announced a three-day ceasefire to coincide with the latest trip. So what’s behind the latest initiative by the US envoys and will it help end the war? Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the high-level talks were “highly useful” and lasted for more than three hours, according to .
Witkoff and Kushner “outlined a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement,” said Ushakov, without providing any further detail, but added that the talks had been “substantive, very frank and constructive”. Videos show Putin meeting the US envoys in the famous Red Drawing Room at the Kremlin on Saturday and telling his guests that the situation they are exploring “is, of course, not an easy one”. The question remains whether Russia is willing to compromise, said Al Jazeera correspondent Yulia Shapovalova from Moscow.
The move was not recognised by the international community, including the UN. Ukraine has refused to cede territory to Russia. The Trump administration has ruled out a seat for Ukraine at NATO – which Russia has opposed.
Trump had initially been critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but has since mended ties after berating the Ukrainian leader in the Oval Office in February last year. In August, Trump met Putin in Alaska, but the summit failed to reach a deal to end the war. Witkoff and Kushner have been involved in a number of diplomatic talks, including the Iran war, the so-called ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel and the Ukraine-Russia war.
Witkoff was appointed as the special envoy to the Middle East and later assigned the task of helping end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Kushner also played a major role in the 2020 Abraham Accords that saw a number of Muslim countries recognise Israel. The initiative has been criticised for prioritising Arab-Israeli normalisation without addressing the question of a Palestinian state.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
