Russia’s President Vladimir Putin welcomes special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner prior to their talks in Moscow Saturday. (Photo by Gavriil GRIGOROV / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin Saturday and discussed U.S. ideas for ending the war in Ukraine.
Why it matters: Witkoff and Kushner want to resume direct talks between Russia and Ukraine after negotiations were suspended six months ago and the fighting has escalated ahead of winter.
- Witkoff and Kushner, who are expected to travel to Kyiv on Sunday, got Russia and Ukraine to agree to a short pause in airstrikes to allow the trip to take place.
Putin told Witkoff and Kushner at the top of the three-hour meeting that he has “full trust” in the U.S. mediation between Russia and Ukraine.
- Witkoff thanked Putin for releasing ex-U.S. Marine Robert Gilman and for agreeing to pause airstrikes against Ukraine while U.S. negotiators are visiting Kyiv.
- Putin said the pause will begin at midnight Saturday Moscow time and noted that Ukraine also reduced its strikes.
- “We will do our utmost to provide for the safety of the negotiations,” Putin said.
Yes, but: Over the last several days, Russia dramatically increased its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, including Kyiv and other major cities.
The trip to Kyiv by Trump’s envoys will be the highest-level visit by a U.S. official to Ukraine since President Trump started his second term.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy aide, told Russian reporters afterward that Witkoff and Kushner “made serious preparations for this trip. They not only expressed their traditional interest in a speedy end to the fighting but also formulated a number of ideas regarding possible resolution paths.”
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