MOSCOW — The Kremlin described a high-level meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as “constructive, effective, and remarkably candid,” signaling ongoing diplomatic channels between Washington and Moscow over the Ukraine war.
Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov confirmed on Sunday that the session, held in Moscow on Saturday, spanned three hours and ten minutes. Beyond discussing potential political avenues to end the war in Ukraine, the discussions touched on prospective joint economic and strategic initiatives between Russia and the United States.
Ushakov stated that President Putin reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to continue collaborating with the U.S. toward a political-diplomatic resolution. However, Putin reiterated the necessity of addressing the root causes of the conflict while pointing to battlefield gains, expressing confidence that Russia’s objectives would be met.
During the exchange, Witkoff and Kushner outlined several proposals aimed at ending hostilities. According to Ushakov, the American envoys agreed to integrate Putin’s positions and assessments into their upcoming deliberations in Kyiv. Ushakov noted that direct communications between Putin and Trump, as well as working-level negotiations, will persist.
The U.S. delegation departed Moscow on Sunday for scheduled meetings in Kyiv. A White House official confirmed to Axios that the envoy mission forms part of broader initiatives to negotiate an end to the four-year conflict. Officials from the U.S. National Security Council, State Department, and Treasury Department accompanied the envoys, with both sides deliberating detailed roadmaps that may yield formal announcements in the coming weeks.
