Kushner in Kyiv: Trump is firmly determined to end the war

Jared Kushner said in Kyiv that Donald Trump wants more than an end to the current fighting. The US president, Kushner said, is seeking the conditions and arrangements needed for a lasting peace in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters after the first round of negotiations, Kushner said Trump had asked the envoys to convey his regards to the Ukrainian people. Trump viewed the conflict as “a very, very hard and complex problem”, he said, but also as one worth solving.

Kushner said a durable settlement should allow Ukraine to draw on the bravery, ingenuity and strength it had shown during the war and use them to build the country it could become. Trump, he added, was determined to stop the deaths and bring relief to families affected by the conflict.

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Not just to figure out how we end the current war, but how to create the right conditions and arrangements for a long-term and durable peace

Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Kyiv by train on 6 September and met the Ukrainian president at Sofiiska Square. After visiting St Sophia Cathedral, they began negotiations taking place in several stages, including meetings with national security advisers from France, Britain and Germany.

Two rounds of talks have concluded. Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Vladimir Putin, said the Russian leader told the US envoys during Saturday’s discussions that he remained confident Russia’s war aims would be achieved. The White House called the talks “substantive” and said it would announce the next steps in the coming weeks.

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The harder it is, if it’s worthy, you have to give it everything you have