US envoy heads to Kyiv after meeting with Putin

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US envoy heads to Kyiv after meeting with Putin

Kremlin chief Putin and US President Trump’s envoys spoke in Moscow for around three hours about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Now the negotiators are traveling to Kyiv for the first time.

After a meeting with the Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Moscow US mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for the first time in Kiev for talks about a possible end to the war in Ukraine. president Volodymyr Zelensky wants the envoys of US President Donald Trump received today in the Ukrainian capital. The visit will take place under the protection of a local, three-day ceasefire declared by Zelensky and Putin. Moscow has pledged to refrain from air strikes against the city of Kiev for the safety of US envoys.

Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law left the Kremlin that night after a three-hour conversation with Putin. According to reports, the conversation initially did not produce any tangible results. Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov then spoke of constructive, content-rich and trusting discussions. The US side initially did not comment publicly on the conversation with the Russian head of state.

According to Ushakov, Putin was once again convinced that he could achieve the goals of his war – the Russia military special operation – will achieve. Putin gave his assessment of the situation. “In particular, the real successes of the Russian army in advancing in the operational area were highlighted,” Ushakov said.

However, experts give different assessments about the supposed and real progress of the warring parties in the frontline area. Russia has hardly been able to report any territorial gains for months. There are always doubts as to whether Putin is being truthfully informed about the situation by his general staff.

Above all, it is important for Russia to eliminate the root causes of the conflict, said Ushakov. This includes Moscow’s actions against Kiev in parts of the Ukraine widespread Russian language.

Ushakov said nothing about new proposals for ending the war that Trump and the Kremlin said would be presented at the meeting. Putin is counting on Witkoff and Kushner to now take the Russian view into account Kyiv transmitted, he emphasized. This did not initially suggest that there could be any movement towards resolving the conflict.

In August, CIA chief John Ratcliffe was also unexpectedly in Moscow for talks at the secret service level. According to US media reports, the intelligence chief portrayed Russia’s economic and military position as weakened and urged Moscow to agree to a negotiated solution to end the war in Ukraine.

“As expected, the visit of Witkoff and Kushner led to nothing – except for a formal resumption of the negotiation process, which had been paused since the spring – with the beginning of American aggression against Iran,” said Moscow American expert Dmitry Novikov. Witkoff is valued in Moscow because he uses less harsh tones than other US representatives. The situation in the conflict is such that mere diplomatic means cannot get the process out of the deadlock.