Moscow: The White House announced that US envoys Steve Wittkopf and Jared Kushner discussed “substantive plans” to end the war in Ukraine during their meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday. A White House official stated that Wittkopf and Kushner “discussed substantive plans regarding next steps that will be announced in the coming weeks, and they look forward to equally productive meetings in Ukraine.”
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks lasting more than three hours on Saturday with US envoys seeking an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, describing the discussions as “very useful” but not indicating any progress. Ushakov added that envoys Steve Wittkopf and Jared Kushner “put forward a number of ideas on possible ways to reach a settlement.” Ushakov did not specify what those ideas were.
He said that Putin told them that Russia was making “real progress” on the battlefield and that he was confident of achieving his country’s objectives, and stressed the need to address “all the root causes of the conflict.” A White House official said the talks were “substantive” and that next steps would be announced in the coming weeks.
There has been no comment yet from Wittkopf and Kushner, who visited Moscow for the first time since January on behalf of President Donald Trump. The envoys left Moscow by air after the talks and are scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.
Ushakov said: “The talks went beyond simply exchanging views on resolving the Ukrainian crisis. Economic issues and potential major Russian-American projects of mutual benefit were discussed in some detail.” He added: “Overall, it can be said that the negotiations were timely and very useful for both sides.”
Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, later wrote on the X platform that the visit was “important for bringing peace.” He and Ushakov were present at the meeting. In televised remarks at the start of the talks, Putin praised Trump’s efforts to end the war. Trump had indicated on Friday that the United States had a new proposal aimed at ending the war, but he did not provide details.
Putin said, “Recognizing the difficulty of the situation, he does not cease making efforts to help reach a settlement and contribute to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.” Putin promised to guarantee the safety of the American negotiators. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Putin had ordered the Russian military not to shell Kyiv for three days during the visit of the American envoys.