On Tuesday, Steve Witkoff, serving as a special envoy for former President Trump, engaged in discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This meeting marks a renewed attempt by the White House to persuade Moscow to conclude its invasion of Ukraine, which has persisted for nearly four years.

Accompanying Witkoff at the Kremlin was Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. Their meeting followed recent discussions with American and Ukrainian officials held in South Florida over the weekend.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian government, informed journalists that the talks would continue for as long as necessary. On the American side, only an interpreter would be present alongside Witkoff and Kushner.

Before the high-stakes meeting, Russian state media outlet TASS aired footage showing Witkoff, Kushner, and Kirill Dmitriev, leader of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, leisurely walking through central Moscow. This came after they dined at a restaurant near Moscow’s historic fortress.

In the meantime, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was on a diplomatic mission across Europe. On Tuesday, he visited Ireland following a meeting the previous day with French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron revealed on Monday that he and Zelensky had spoken with Witkoff via phone in preparation for the meeting with Putin.

Zelensky said that he also met Tuesday with the Ukrainian delegation that had just returned from Florida — claiming that the parties had “finalized” a 19-point peace plan drafted during talks earlier last month in Vienna, without elaborating.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also joined the Sunday talks, acknowledged to reporters that “much work remains” to secure an end to Europe’s bloodiest conflict since the Second World War.

Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Russia hours after the Kremlin claimed its forces had captured the logistical hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine after 21 months of trying.

Zelensky, however, told reporters in Paris that fighting was still ongoing in the city that was formerly home to 60,000 people.