Putin Talks With Trump's Closest Allies, Who Bring “A Series of Ideas” to End the War

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow with what a Kremlin adviser described as "a series of ideas" for ending the war, but neither the Russian nor American side disclosed what those ideas involved.

Yury Ushakov, an adviser to President Vladimir Putin, said the American envoys presented possible ways to reach a settlement. Putin told them that Russia was making "real progress" on the battlefield and remained confident in its objectives. He also stressed the need to address what Moscow calls all the fundamental causes of the conflict.

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A series of ideas on possible ways to reach a settlement.

Ushakov said the meeting went beyond a simple exchange of positions on resolving the Ukraine crisis. The participants discussed economic issues and potential major Russian-American projects that could benefit both sides. "Generally speaking, it can be said that the talks were timely and extremely useful for both sides," he said. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's investment envoy, later called the trip an "important peace-making visit" on X.

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Real progress.

Putin praised Trump's efforts to end the war in televised remarks at the start of the meeting. Trump had suggested on Friday that Washington had a new proposal for ending the conflict, but he did not provide details. Witkoff and Kushner left Moscow soon after the talks and were expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday.

The meeting took place alongside a temporary reduction in attacks on Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said Putin ordered the Russian military not to attack the Ukrainian capital for three days during the envoys' visit. Russia had bombarded Kyiv with missiles and drones over the previous 10 days, including a Friday strike on the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service. Zelenskyy said Kyiv was prepared to refrain from attacking Moscow until Monday.

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Generally speaking, it can be said that the talks were timely and extremely useful for both sides.

Despite the diplomatic contacts, the distance between Russia and Ukraine remains substantial. A Kremlin-linked source told Reuters that Putin remained determined to seize more territory and would not accept an agreement on the front line until Russia captured the rest of Donetsk region. Western military analysts questioned whether that goal could be achieved, although the supplied report ends before detailing their assessment.

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There is no prospect of reaching an agreement on the front line until Putin completes the capture of the remaining part of Donetsk region.