US envoys Witkoff, Kushner conclude over 3-hour talks with Putin on ending Russia’s war
Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner concluded more than three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sept. 5 as Washington renewed efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The meeting at the Kremlin lasted about three hours, according to Russian state media. Witkoff and Kushner left the Kremlin at around 11 p.m. local time. No immediate details on the outcome of the talks were announced.
The talks followed the envoys’ arrival in Moscow earlier in the day, where they were met by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev. “Welcome to Moscow, peacemakers Witkoff and Kushner,” Dmitriev wrote on X, posting footage of their arrival.
The negotiators were later seen having a business lunch at a Moscow restaurant with Dmitriev, according to Russian state media. Their meeting reportedly lasted around 3.5 hours.
Putin began talks with Witkoff and Kushner at around 8 p.m. local time. He described the situation as “not easy,” adding that Russian forces had not struck Kyiv since midnight on Sept. 5 and that the “Ukrainian side has significantly reduced the intensity of strikes on Russian territory since that time.”
Kremlin spokesperson Yuri Ushakov later described the meeting as “substantive, constructive, extremely frank and trustworthy.”
Putin told Witkoff and Kushner that he expects Russia to meet its “goals” and that Moscow wants the root causes of its war to be resolved.
Russia has said it seeks to occupy the rest of Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk Oblast and claims Ukraine’s NATO aspirations are a threat.
Earlier on Sept. 5, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin had ordered Russian forces not to strike Kyiv for three days beginning “at midnight,” according to Russian state media.
Ukraine had proposed a broader three-day ceasefire that would go beyond attacks on the two capitals and include fighting along the front line. Putin said during his meeting with the U.S. envoys that Russia had not agreed to the broader proposal.
Russian forces nevertheless launched multiple attacks across Ukraine overnight, including strikes on Kyiv, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During the day, at least three people were killed and over 20 were injured following Russian drone attacks as U.S. envoys talked with Putin.
Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to Kyiv after their meetings in Moscow. Zelensky has confirmed that Witkoff and Kushner are expected in Kyiv on Sept. 6.
Their arrival in Moscow came hours after Russia launched fresh attacks across Ukraine, killing at least 7 people and injuring at least 51 others over the past 24 hours, despite Kyiv’s proposal for a temporary ceasefire ahead of the diplomatic talks.