Russian President Vladimir Putin met for more than three hours on Saturday with two US envoys pursuing a possible agreement to end the Ukraine war, in discussions a Kremlin aide described as “highly useful,” though he offered no sign that a breakthrough had been reached.
Yuri Ushakov, the aide, said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner presented “a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement.” He did not provide details on what those proposals involved.
According to Ushakov, Putin told the US representatives that Russian forces were making “real progress” on the battlefield and that Moscow remained confident it would achieve its objectives. He also emphasized what the Kremlin calls the need to address “all the root causes of the conflict.”
Those themes have been central to Moscow’s public messaging since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s smaller neighbor, in February 2022.
The diplomatic contact comes as both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up long-range air strikes in recent weeks, while front lines have remained largely unchanged.
PUTIN PRAISES TRUMP’S EFFORTS
A White House official told Reuters the talks had been “substantive” and that next steps would be announced in the coming weeks.
There was no comment from Witkoff and Kushner, who were visiting Moscow for the first time since January on behalf of President Donald Trump.
They flew out of Moscow soon after the talks and are due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.
“The talks went beyond a mere exchange of views on resolving the Ukrainian crisis. Economic issues and potential major, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects were discussed in some detail,” Ushakov said. “Overall, one can say that the negotiations were timely and highly useful for both sides.”
Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, posted on X that the meeting had been an “important peacemaking visit.” He and Ushakov were both present at the meeting.
The Russian president praised Trump’s efforts to end the war.
RELATED: Canal Edge Renderings Reveal White Sox Riverfront Stadium
“Understanding that he is entering a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to help bring about a settlement and to make his contribution to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” Putin said in televised remarks at the start of the talks.
Trump suggested on Friday that the US had a fresh proposal aimed at ending the war but did not elaborate.
Putin promised to ensure the safety of the US negotiators. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Putin had ordered the Russian military not to strike Kyiv for three days because of their trip.
A VAST GULF IN POSITIONS
Over the previous 10 days, Russia pounded the Ukrainian capital day and night with missiles and drones, including an attack on Friday on the headquarters of the SBU security service.
Ukraine has inflicted damaging hits throughout the summer on Russian refineries, oil terminals and warehouses of online retailer Wildberries, in an attempt to raise the cost to Moscow of continuing the war. Zelensky said Kyiv was prepared to refrain from strikes on Moscow through Monday.
Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on how to end the war, the deadliest in Europe since World War Two.
A person close to the Kremlin, speaking before reports emerged of the trip by Trump’s envoys, said Putin was still intent on capturing more territory.
“There is no chance of reaching an agreement regarding the front line until Putin finishes securing the remaining part of the Donetsk region,” this person told Reuters, adding that the Kremlin leader was confident — based on reports from his commanders — that this would happen by the end of the year.
Western military analysts see such a possibility as remote, given Moscow’s slow rate of progress.
Ukraine has refused to surrender land it has successfully defended at huge cost, and rejects such terms as tantamount to surrender.
The Kremlin said on Friday the position that Putin set out in a speech two years ago — that Ukraine should cede the entire territory of four regions claimed by Russia and abandon its plan to join NATO — was “unshakeable.”