Putin describes difficult situation ahead of meeting with U.S. envoys

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived at the Kremlin in Moscow on Saturday for talks with Vladimir Putin about a possible end to the more than four-year full-scale war in Ukraine. Before the meeting, Putin described the situation they would discuss as difficult.

"The situation is of course not simple," Putin said in a video shared on the Kremlin's channel on Russia's MAX messaging service. He also said relations between Moscow and Washington were always beneficial and that Russia saw practical value in working with the two envoys.

Witkoff said U.S. President Donald Trump had sent his best wishes and thanked Putin for agreeing to a ceasefire while the envoys were in the region. Trump said on Friday that the United States had a new, concrete proposal intended to end the war, but he did not disclose its contents.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that he had spoken with the two envoys, who are expected to travel to Ukraine on Sunday. Zelenskyy also said Ukraine was prepared to stop attacking Russia from Saturday through Monday and expected Russia to do the same.

The two envoys arrived at Moscow's Vnukovo airport earlier in the day, where Russian politician Kirill Dmitriev received them. They then traveled to the Kremlin in a motorcade, according to the BBC. Their expected visit to Ukraine would be their first there since Trump began his second presidential term last year. Peace efforts have stalled partly because the United States has focused on the conflict with Iran, while Russia and Ukraine have both increased their long-range attacks.

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The situation is of course not simple.