The White House revealed on Sunday that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner discussed “fundamental plans” related to ending the war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during talks hosted by the Kremlin, as part of US efforts to revive peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.
A White House official told Agence France-Presse that Witkoff and Kushner “discussed substantive plans regarding next steps that will be announced in the coming weeks,” adding that they looked forward to holding “equally productive” meetings in Ukraine.
Russian media reported the end of Putin’s discussions with Witkov and Kushner in Moscow, after a meeting that discussed options for settling the war in Ukraine, in addition to cooperation files between Russia and the United States.
Russian Presidential Assistant Yuri Ushakov said that the American envoys presented Putin with “several ideas” regarding options for settling the Ukrainian conflict, describing the meeting as “substantial, constructive and very frank.”
Ushakov explained that the talks lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes, noting that Witkov and Kushner prepared well for their visit to Moscow and put forward a number of ideas related to settlement options.
He added that the American envoys pledged to benefit from Putin’s assessments of these options during their scheduled contacts in Kiev, explaining that the Russian President stressed during the meeting the need to address all the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict, and renewed his commitment to continuing joint work with the United States to find political and diplomatic solutions.
During the meeting, Putin referred to what he described as the successes of Russian forces on the battlefield, expressing his confidence in their ability to achieve his country’s goals.
Witkov praised Putin’s decision to stop any attack on Kiev during the American delegation’s visit to Moscow.
Ushakov said that Putin and US President Donald Trump will maintain personal contact, while work between the two sides will continue through Witkov and Kushner.
He added that the American envoys took into account Putin’s statements regarding what he described as the Kiev authorities’ stop concealing their “true nature” by reburying the Nazis.
The discussions were not limited to the war in Ukraine, as the meeting also discussed potential major Russian-American projects.
Putin had considered that talks with the American side were “always useful,” adding that Trump was continuing his efforts to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, while the US President had announced, on Friday, that Washington had a new proposal aimed at ending the war, without revealing its details.
