Steve Witkoff, the US president's special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, visited Moscow and held talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to infohub.kz.
The talks took place yesterday, September 5, in the presence of Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Kremlin's special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries. The meeting lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes. Dmitriev called it an "important peacemaking visit." Ushakov said Russia provided "clear and comprehensive assessments" of the situation in the conflict and reaffirmed its commitment to continue working with the US "to find political and diplomatic solutions."
At the start of the meeting, Putin asked to convey his gratitude to US President Donald Trump and described the situation as "difficult," one that "needs to be sorted out." The sides discussed settling the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the suspension of strikes on Kyiv.
Key statements by Vladimir Putin at the meeting:
The request to halt strikes on Kyiv came to Russia through intelligence and foreign ministry channels. Putin ordered that no strikes be carried out on Kyiv starting from 00:00 on September 5. His press secretary Dmitry Peskov earlier said the order would remain in effect for three days.
The Ukrainian side has significantly reduced the intensity of strikes on Russian regions, "including Moscow," amid the arrival of the US special envoys.
Kyiv called for a broader three-day truce, but no agreement was reached, Putin said. He promised to do everything in Russia's power to ensure the security of the negotiation process.
Contacts like the meetings with Witkoff and Kushner are always beneficial, Putin said, stressing that Moscow trusts them as mediators in the negotiation process on Ukraine.
Russia is ready to inform the American side of its vision of the situation regarding the conflict with Ukraine.
Witkoff, in turn, thanked Putin for suspending strikes on Kyiv, saying it allowed American negotiators "to fly here in a safe mode during these three days."
"We talked about how, when we retire, we will have many stories to recall, and communicating with you will be one of the best and most memorable," the US administration officials said.
Witkoff and Kushner, at talks in Kyiv scheduled for September 6, promised to use "the observations and assessments received personally from the Russian president regarding reaching a lasting settlement." According to Ushakov, they formulated "a number of considerations" on possible ways to resolve the conflict.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the special representatives of White House chief Donald Trump are resuming negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.