U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington made “substantive progress” toward reviving Russia-Ukraine negotiations after American officials shuttled between Moscow and Kyiv, including movement toward scheduling another round of trilateral talks.
US Envoys Shuttle Between Moscow, Kyiv
“At President Trump’s direction, United States negotiators visited both Moscow and Kyiv in order to facilitate additional dialogue to end the Russia-Ukraine War,” Witkoff wrote Monday on his official Special Envoy X account.
Witkoff said Russia and Ukraine agreed ahead of the trip to a three-day “no-shoot policy” to enable the discussions. He and Jared Kushner, joined by National Security Council, State Department and Treasury officials, met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss “each side’s proposals with the other.”
The Moscow meeting lasted more than three hours, extending Washington’s renewed push after President Donald Trump said the U.S. had a “concrete proposal” for peace. Trump had already sent Witkoff and Kushner back into negotiations with Putin as diplomacy stalled.
In Kyiv, national security advisers from Britain, Germany and France joined the delegations “to collaborate on the path forward,” Witkoff said. Sunday marked Witkoff and Kushner’s first official wartime visit to Kyiv.
Witkoff Sees Progress Toward More Talks
“We think we made a lot of progress in Moscow. We heard new ideas,” Witkoff told reporters Sunday. He called the Kyiv talks “substantive” and expressed confidence “that there’ll be a good resolution here.”
Witkoff followed Monday with his clearest assessment, stating, “Substantive progress was made, including movement on scheduling additional trilateral talks. President Trump is working hard to stop the killing and work towards a lasting and durable peace.”
The latest effort follows months of attempts to bridge disputes over territory and security guarantees. Putin recently said he believed a peace deal remained possible, while CIA Director John Ratcliffe floated a Trump-Putin-Zelenskyy summit during an August visit to Moscow.
Kremlin Cautious As Fighting Resumes
Meanwhile, according to a Reuters report on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia did not rule out resuming trilateral talks but called discussion of dates or a venue premature.
The diplomacy’s fragility surfaced Tuesday when Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv shortly after Witkoff and Kushner departed Ukraine, injuring six people.
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