Russia’s Putin meets US envoys to discuss Trump proposal to end Ukraine war

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has begun talks with envoys from the United States on ending more than four years of war in Ukraine, ahead of their expected visit to Kyiv on Sunday.

Putin met Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday after the two arrived in the Russian capital earlier in the day.

“Dear colleagues, I warmly welcome you to Moscow. The situation is, of course, not simple,” Putin told the envoys in a ceremony aired on Russian TV.

Both Russia and Ukraine vowed not to strike each other’s capitals for three days during the negotiations, as Washington tries to revive US-led talks to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II.

Earlier, Trump said son-in-law Kushner and Witkoff, his special envoy and business ally, were bringing “a proposal to end the war”.

In Putin’s address to them, he said: “I would like to ask everyone to convey their best wishes and words of gratitude to US President Mr Trump”.

Witkoff said Trump had sent his best wishes to Putin and ⁠⁠thanked him for ⁠⁠the limited ceasefire during the delegation’s visit. Putin said ⁠⁠Russia would do its ⁠⁠utmost to ensure ⁠⁠the safety of the mediators.

Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said that there are “some more or less optimistic reports” from the Kremlin regarding the progress of the talks between Putin and the US envoys.

On the one hand, Putin says that he “remains publicly open to peace talks”, said Shapovalova. But on the other, “following all of Ukraine’s escalating drone operations deep inside Russia and the targeting of major economic and logistics hubs like oil infrastructure and online retailers”, he maintains that he won’t make any concessions on any key issues, that major differences remain in place and that he won’t negotiate with “terrorists”.

Some analysts say that “expectations in the Kremlin for this particular visit of the US envoys is actually less pessimistic because previous trips by Witkoff and Kushner have not led to any progress, and Putin believes that Russia holds a military advantage on the battlefield”, Shapovalova added.

‘Refrain from strikes’

The talks come as the grinding war – which began with the Russian invasion in 2022 – has seen increasing civilian deaths and attacks this summer.

Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine.

Russian strikes on Ukraine on Saturday killed at least seven people, including in the Kyiv suburbs, Ukrainian officials said.

Meanwhile, one person was killed and another injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Belgorod region, according to local authorities.

The Kremlin said it would not strike Kyiv from midnight on Saturday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would halt strikes on Moscow “from now” until Monday.

“The Russian president, the commander-in-chief, has given the order from midnight tonight not to strike Kyiv for three days,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Zelenskyy – who had offered a truce during the US visits – later said he had spoken to the US envoys and also promised Kyiv would not strike Moscow.

“From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow,” Zelenskyy said on social media.

The Ukrainian leader said he had spoken to the US officials and that he expected them in Kyiv on Sunday.

It will be Witkoff and Kushner’s first visit to Kyiv since Trump returned to office last year with a pledge to resolve the conflict.

Al Jazeera’s Audrey Macalpine, reporting from Kyiv, said the US envoys’ visit to Ukraine is being viewed as a “milestone” in the country.

That being said, the visit is seen as more ceremonial than one that is “going to lead to any real concrete results, though of course we still have to wait for the outcome of these meetings”, she said.

Many people in Ukraine believe that “foreign diplomats need to come here to fully understand the scope of the war, so this is very important to Ukrainian officials to have these representatives from the US here tomorrow”, Macalpine added.