Russian President Vladimir Putin began talks with U.S. special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday, according to video published on the Kremlin’s channel on the MAX messaging app.
Putin described the situation he and the U.S. envoys would have to address during the negotiations as “difficult,” as Washington launched another effort to revive stalled talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a frequent negotiator for the administration, arrived in Moscow with expectations low and the gap between Russia and Ukraine still wide.
The meeting comes at a difficult moment for the diplomatic push, with little sign that Moscow and Kyiv have narrowed their core differences. Russia continues to demand that Ukraine surrender additional territory, while Kyiv rejects terms it considers tantamount to capitulation.
Witkoff and Kushner are also expected to travel to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of the renewed U.S. effort to determine whether either side is prepared to soften its position.
The trip marks another attempt to restart U.S.-mediated negotiations that have largely stalled in recent months despite repeated contacts among American, Russian and Ukrainian officials.
One of the central obstacles remains territory. Putin has continued to insist that Ukraine concede additional land in the Donbas as part of any settlement, while Kyiv has rejected surrendering territory that Russian forces have not captured.
Moscow also believes it retains military leverage and has shown little public willingness to abandon its core demands. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, have argued that any agreement must include credible security guarantees.
The U.S. special representatives were reportedly received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev upon their arrival.
A motorcade carrying Witkoff, Kushner and Dmitriev left Moscow’s government airport and made its way towards the city, Reuters reported.
Dmitriev has been involved in previous rounds of talks between the U.S. and Russia. In June, he had stated that he had continued communicating with American negotiators during a temporary pause in their trips to Russia.
He also attended all of Witkoff’s and Kushner’s earlier meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and was involved in discussions that resulted in U.S. sanctions waivers for Russian oil earlier this year.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington had a new, specific proposal aimed at bringing the war in Ukraine to an end, but offered no details about what the plan entails. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the two U.S. leaders would travel to Ukraine on Sunday following their meetings in Moscow.
In a post on X on Saturday, Zelenskiy claimed that Russia had targeted two Ukrainian airports ahead of the American envoys’ planned trip to Kyiv.
Despite the latest diplomatic efforts, significant differences continue to separate Moscow and Kyiv over a potential settlement to the war, which has lasted more than four years and remains Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
Citing the Kremlin, Russian state news agency RIA reported that presidential aide Yury Ushakov and presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev were also taking part in the meeting.
Speaking at the beginning of negotiations, Putin said the situation they must address during their talks is certainly complex,
expressing that Trump continues his efforts to resolve the ongoing war despite entering a difficult situation.
Today, we will discuss all its components, all aspects, and we, for our part, are ready to inform you of our view of the situation,
Putin said in remarks that were aired by Russian state media.
As you informed us, I know that after Moscow, you are planning to travel to (Ukraine's capital) Kyiv. In any case, no matter what happens there, contacts of this kind are certainly always beneficial,
he added.
For their part, Witkoff thanked the Russian president for agreeing to a three-day ceasefire while he and Kushner visit both Moscow and the Ukrainian capital over the weekend.
Witkoff also conveyed the gratitude of former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman’s family to Putin for the help in his return. Gilman, who was imprisoned in Russia since 2022, was released by Moscow last month.
The U.S. envoys are expected to visit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday for the first time following their Moscow trip.
Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Putin, said in a video the Kremlin posted online that the meeting was a “constructive” five-hour meeting.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner
Nearly four years after Putin’s full-scale invasion of his smaller neighbor, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are grappling with an empowered Russia, with Ukraine on the back foot both on and off the battlefield.
Kyiv’s troops, facing a dire manpower crisis, cling to strategic hubs, and a major corruption scandal has shaken President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government and forced the resignation of his top negotiator.
Kyiv and its allies view Witkoff, the man whom Washington has sent to negotiate with Putin this week, with suspicion after a leaked phone call suggested he was advising Moscow on how to deal with Trump, according to a transcript published by Bloomberg News.
Yury Ushakov
Ushakov said in the Kremlin video that the meeting was very useful, constructive
but that the sides agreed not to get into details about the negotiations. We specifically discussed territorial issues, without which we see no resolution to the crisis,
he said.
Witkoff presented the Russians with several documents. There was a document containing 27 points. We naturally reviewed it. However, we didn’t work on the wording, and there were no discussions with our American colleagues about it,
Ushakov said, noting that the Americans gave the Russians four additional documents.
Yuri Ushakov
A compromise hasn’t been found yet, but some American proposals seem more or less acceptable, but they need to be discussed. Some of the language we’ve been offered is acceptable. The work will continue. It is indeed one of the most important questions. He added
Ushakov said that contacts would continue at the level of representatives and aides.
