Trump’s envoys meet Putin in Moscow as White House cites “substantial plans”

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner spent hours waiting for Vladimir Putin before meeting the Russian president in Moscow, where the Kremlin leader had been attending other events and campaigning activities ahead of parliamentary elections.

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substantial plans for the next steps

The meeting took place on Saturday, September 5, as efforts to end the war in Ukraine intensified. The White House said Trump’s envoys had discussed “substantial plans for the next steps.” It said the plans would be announced in the coming weeks and that the officials looked forward to equally productive meetings in Ukraine the following day.

Putin said the current situation “is not so easy.” According to the BBC, Witkoff thanked him for agreeing with Ukraine to halt attacks on each other’s capitals for three days. The two envoys were due to travel to Kyiv on Sunday for further discussions, in what the article described as their first visit of this kind to the Ukrainian capital.

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is not so easy

Trump said on Friday that Witkoff and Kushner were carrying a proposal to end the war. Earlier US and allied efforts to negotiate a peace agreement had failed. Putin said such contacts were “without a doubt, always useful” and thanked Trump for his peace efforts.

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without a doubt, always useful

The closed-door talks at Putin’s official residence in central Moscow lasted three hours, according to Russian state media. Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov described them as “constructive, extremely frank.” He said the discussions covered not only the Ukrainian crisis but also economic issues and possible major projects that could benefit Russia and the United States. Ushakov added that the sides noted tangible Russian military progress on the battlefield and recognized the need to address what he called the conflict’s “root causes.”

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constructive, extremely frank