Trump says envoys are taking a plan to Ukraine and Russia to end the war

Donald Trump said Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were heading to Moscow and Kyiv with what he described as a proposal to end the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

“They have a proposal to end the war,” Trump told reporters. “We are sending them to see if we can achieve something, and there may be a good possibility that we can.” He did not say whether the plan involved Ukraine giving up territory, an idea he has suggested previously, but added: “We have an idea for peace.”

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They have a proposal to end the war.

The trip would mark the first visit to Kyiv by Kushner and Witkoff since Trump returned to the presidency last year promising to end the war. Both envoys have previously visited Moscow.

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We are sending them to see if we can achieve something, and there may be a good possibility that we can.

Trump said the conflict, which began with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, was continuing because of what he called a “personality problem” involving Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy had proposed a ceasefire while the American envoys visited Moscow and Kyiv. “There will be no air attacks from our side, and Russia must reciprocally guarantee a ceasefire, without its own air attacks, for as long as necessary to conduct these talks,” he said in his evening address.

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There will be no air attacks from our side, and Russia must reciprocally guarantee a ceasefire, without its own air attacks, for as long as necessary to conduct these talks.

Trump also played down Germany's decision earlier in the week to blame Russia for an attempted drone attack on an airport. “I talk to him. I know him very well. Putin is not looking to attack NATO territory,” Trump said in the Oval Office in response to an AFP journalist's question about the accusation.

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I talk to him. I know him very well. Putin is not looking to attack NATO territory.