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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday met US special representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who arrived in Moscow earlier in the day to intensify efforts to bring an end to the war with Ukraine.
“The situation is of course not simple,” Putin told the US officials in footage aired on Russian state media.
The top US envoys were received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev upon their arrival. A motorcade carrying Witkoff, Kushner and Dmitriev left Moscow’s government airport and made its way towards the city, Reuters reported.
Dmitriev has been involved in previous rounds of talks between the US and Russia. In June, he had stated that he had continued communicating with American negotiators during a temporary pause in their
trips to Russia.
He also attended all of Witkoff’s and Kushner’s earlier meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and was involved in discussions that resulted in US sanctions waivers for Russian oil earlier this year.
Trump’s Envoys To Visit Ukraine On Sunday
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington had a new, specific proposal aimed at bringing the war in Ukraine to an end, but offered no details about what the plan entails. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the two US leaders would travel to Ukraine on Sunday following their meetings in Moscow. In a post on X on Saturday, Zelenskiy claimed that Russia had targeted two Ukrainian airports ahead of the American envoys’ planned trip to Kyiv.
Russia, Ukraine Pause Strikes
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have agreed to temporarily suspend attacks targeting each other’s capitals as US envoys travel to the region for diplomatic engagements. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that he had spoken with the American representatives, who have “already begun working with the Russian side today”.
Zelensky confirmed that preparations for the US delegation’s meetings in Kyiv had been finalised. “The plan for tomorrow’s diplomatic engagements in Kyiv, involving the US team, has been approved. We are waiting for Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and are ready for a substantive conversation,” he tweeted.
“From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow, and we expect the Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv,” he further wrote.
Russian state media separately reported that President Vladimir Putin had instructed his forces to suspend strikes on Kyiv for three days, coinciding with the visit of the American delegation.
