US President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have left the Kremlin following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The closed-door meeting went on for about three hours, with neither party making any public statements in its immediate aftermath.
The duo had arrived in Moscow earlier on Saturday for talks aimed at settling the Ukraine conflict. Ahead of their visit, Trump said the envoys were tasked with bringing “a proposal to end the war” to Moscow and Kiev. Witkoff and Kushner are expected to set off for the Ukrainian capital shortly.
Ahead of the closed-door part of the meeting, the press was briefly allowed into the room. It was attended by presidential aide Yury Ushakov and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. In his foreword, Putin expressed his gratitude to his American counterpart for engaging in the diplomatic effort to settle the enduring hostilities.
“While [Trump] realizes that he is facing a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to resolve it and to contribute to the settlement of the Russian‑Ukrainian conflict. Today, we will discuss all its components and all its aspects, and for our part, we are also ready to inform you about our view of the situation,” Putin stated.
Witkoff conveyed deep gratitude to Putin from the family of former US Marine Robert Gilman, who had been jailed in Russia since 2022 and was released last month for “humanitarian” reasons. “They should be thanking President Trump; it was he who made the appeal,” Putin replied.
The Russian president reiterated Moscow’s commitment to stop striking Kiev over the three-day period starting at midnight on September 5. The pause is intended to enable Trump’s envoys traveling to the Ukrainian capital safely.
“I would like to note that the Ukrainian side has also significantly reduced – by an order of magnitude – the strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, including Moscow. The Ukrainian authorities have published their call for a broader three‑day truce, but we have never agreed on this with them,” Putin stated.
Following the talks, the cavalcade carrying Witkoff and Kushner headed straight for the Vnukovo Airport in the southwest of the Russian capital. Dmitriev personally saw the envoys out, sharing photos from the airport on social media and describing their trip as an “important peacemaking visit.”
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