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US envoys hold substantive talks with Zelenskyy on first Kyiv visit

From Al Jazeera · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • US special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, their first visit to the city since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
  • The meeting followed talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where the US delegation presented ideas for a possible settlement.
  • The discussions included Ukrainian officials and European national security advisers as Washington seeks to revive stalled peace efforts.

“Talks have begun,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after welcoming US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Kyiv. Their visit marked the first time the two have held talks in the Ukrainian capital since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The meeting came a day after Kushner and Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow. They arrived in Kyiv by train from Poland, carrying Washington’s effort to restart negotiations after a summer of heightened tensions. The envoys have visited Moscow eight times, but had not previously held talks in Kyiv.

Talks have begun.

· Volodymyr ZelenskyyZelenskyy posted a video of his meeting with the US envoys in Kyiv.

Zelenskyy thanked US President Donald Trump for “allowing them to come” despite the war. He said Ukrainian security officials and negotiators had joined the discussions, along with several European national security advisers. One session would involve the Ukrainian and US sides, he said, followed by another with the European officials.

It is very important that the delegation has arrived to see us. We have been waiting a long time for Steve and Jared, Witkoff and Kushner.

· Volodymyr ZelenskyyZelenskyy welcomed the envoys and thanked Trump for allowing them to visit despite the war.

Witkoff described the meeting as “substantive, important” and said the US team had been “very encouraged” by it. Kushner said Trump wanted to address not only how to end the current war, but also how to establish conditions for “a long-term, durable peace”.

Zelenskyy took the envoys to Kyiv’s historic Saint Sophia’s Cathedral, across from an SBU security building hit by a Russian drone on Friday. The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions, according to the report. Earlier US-mediated rounds of talks produced few results, although Trump said on Friday that Washington had a new proposal without providing details.

Very encouraged

· Steve WitkoffWitkoff described the US team’s reaction after the meeting with Zelenskyy.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov called the Moscow meeting “highly useful” and “extremely frank”. He said the US delegation had offered several ideas for possible routes to a settlement. A White House official told Reuters that the next steps would be announced in the coming weeks.

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

· Jared KushnerKushner described Trump’s broader goal for the negotiations.
About this summary

Originally published by Al Jazeera in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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