US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for more than three hours as the Trump administration renewed efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the talks were “highly useful” and involved ideas for a possible settlement, while US President Donald Trump said the delegation was carrying a proposal to end the war.
The envoys then travelled to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Moscow and Kyiv announced a three-day halt in attacks on each other’s capitals to allow the delegation to travel, although attacks continued elsewhere in both countries.
What was discussed in Moscow
Ushakov said Witkoff and Kushner outlined several ideas for possible avenues to a settlement but gave no details of the proposals. Putin told the envoys that the situation under discussion was not easy. The meeting took place in the Kremlin’s Red Drawing Room.
The inclusion of Treasury official Gene Lang, who oversees US sanctions policy including measures against Russia, indicates that sanctions and related financial, economic and trade restrictions may have been part of the talks. The Trump administration has increased sanctions on Russia in an effort to pressure Moscow to end the war. For additional context, see “Putin holds Moscow talks on proposal to end Ukraine war”.
What we know now
- Ushakov described the Moscow talks as substantive, frank and constructive.
- The delegation included officials from the US National Security Council, State Department and Treasury.
- Russia continues to demand that Ukraine not join NATO and cede four regions claimed by Moscow.
- Ukraine has refused to give up territory to Russia.
The main obstacles to an agreement
Moscow has demanded that Ukraine stay outside NATO and hand over Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, including areas that Russian forces do not control. President Putin proclaimed the annexation of the four regions in 2022, but the move was not recognised by the international community, including the United Nations. Kyiv has rejected ceding territory.
The Trump administration has ruled out a Ukrainian seat in NATO, addressing one of Russia’s stated objections, but the territorial dispute remains unresolved. European NATO members have offered security guarantees for Ukraine after any agreement with Russia is signed.
Why the diplomacy is restarting now
The latest initiative follows months of stalled diplomacy, an unsuccessful August summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska, and escalating attacks. Russia has carried out deadly missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, while Ukraine has increased drone attacks on Russian energy sites and other industrial and logistical targets. A related part of this story is covered in “How Russia’s missile attacks are deepening Ukraine’s air-defence crisis”.
The conflict has also received less international attention while the Iran war remains unresolved. Trump has previously said he would end the Ukraine war within 24 hours, but that deadline has been revised several times. The administration’s renewed contact with Moscow includes a recent visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and an invitation to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to attend a G20 meeting.
What happens next in Kyiv
Witkoff and Kushner’s Kyiv visit is their first trip there in the latest diplomatic push and their second visit to the Kremlin this year. Ukrainian observers have expressed scepticism about the envoys, with concerns that they may be too receptive to Russia’s account of the conflict.
The temporary halt around the two capitals was intended to support the envoys’ travel, not to establish a wider ceasefire. At least seven people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine, while a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to the account of the fighting. The development of this issue can be followed in “Ukraine says North Korean military support to Russia is expanding”.
What happens next
The envoys’ meeting with Zelenskyy in Kyiv is the next confirmed stage of the initiative. Trump is also expected to meet Putin in November during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China, according to media reports.
No comments yet. Start the discussion.