Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US envoys for talks to end Moscow’s more than four-year war in Ukraine. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived at the Kremlin on Saturday after landing in Moscow earlier in the day. The envoys are expected to arrive in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday. Putin welcomed the two in a ceremony broadcast on Russian television, telling them: “The situation, of course, is not simple.” US President Donald Trump had said that Kushner, his son-in-law, and Witkoff, his special envoy and business ally, brought “a proposal to end the war.” Official Kirill Dmitriev, who was also part of the meetings, said the envoys’ trip to Moscow was an “important visit to achieve peace.” Russia and Ukraine pledged not to attack each other’s capitals for three days during negotiations, as Washington tries to revive talks to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. The Kremlin’s foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov, said that “a whole series of ideas for a peace agreement” had been formulated during the meeting. Witkoff and Kushner “promised to bring Putin’s assessments” to their talks in kyiv, Ushakov said, and the two sides agreed that Putin and Trump would stay in touch. Witkoff told Putin that the US president had sent him his best wishes and thanked him for the limited ceasefire during the delegation’s visit. The Russian president also expressed gratitude to Trump and said Moscow would do everything possible to ensure the safety of the mediators. During the talks, Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said there were “some more or less optimistic reports” from the Kremlin about the progress of the discussions. On the one hand, Putin says he “remains publicly open to peace talks.” Shapovalova said. But on the other hand, “following the escalation of Ukrainian drone operations deep in Russia and attacks on major economic and logistics hubs such as oil infrastructure and online retailers,” he maintains that he will not make any concessions on any key issues, that important differences remain, and that he will not negotiate with “terrorists.” The envoys left Moscow on Saturday afternoon for kyiv, Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported. Some analysts say that the “expectation in the Kremlin for this particular visit by the American envoys is actually less pessimistic, because previous trips by Witkoff and Kushner have not led to any progress, and Putin believes that Russia has a military advantage on the battlefield,” Shapovalova added. Ukraine, Putin has repeatedly said that Moscow intends to keep the rest. Russian strikes on Ukraine on Saturday killed at least seven people, including in the kyiv suburbs, Ukrainian officials said. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone strike against Russia’s Belgorod region killed one person and injured another, according to local authorities. “From now until the end of Saturday, as well as Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from attacking Moscow,” Zelenskyy said on social media. The Ukrainian leader said he expected US officials in kyiv on Sunday. It will be Witkoff and Kushner’s first visit to kyiv since Trump returned to power last year with a promise to resolve the conflict. Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine, reporting from kyiv, said the US envoys’ visit to Ukraine is considered a “milestone” in the country. “We still have to wait for the outcome of these meetings,” he said. Many people in Ukraine believe that “foreign diplomats need to come here to fully understand the scope of the war, so it is very important for Ukrainian officials to have these US representatives here tomorrow,” Macalpine added.
