The United States is insisting that the Ukrainians temporarily halt their drone attacks on moscow and the country's energy facilities, and that the Russians halt their missile attacks on Kyiv during the visit of U.S. President's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to the capitals of the russian federation and Ukraine, UNN reports, citing the NYT.
Details
Two of U.S. President Donald Trump's top emissaries, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are heading to moscow and Kyiv this weekend to resume negotiations on a peace deal that would end the four-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine, officials familiar with the diplomatic efforts said.
Witkoff, the American leader's special envoy, and Kushner, his son-in-law and frequent key negotiator, are expected to meet with Russian President vladimir putin on Saturday. They will then travel to Kyiv for the first time to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to officials, talks over the trip have been underway for weeks, with the United States insisting that the Ukrainians temporarily halt their drone attacks on moscow and the country's energy facilities while the two men are in russia, and that the Russians similarly halt their missile attacks on Kyiv. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a trip that has not been officially announced.
The publication notes that it is unclear whether the Americans are offering both presidents new proposals or pushing them to narrow the gap on the remaining issues, including who will ultimately control the Donbas, Ukrainian territory partially occupied by russia.
Although Witkoff and Kushner have traveled to moscow several times, they have not been to Kyiv, despite numerous official invitations. Two weeks ago, CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited moscow, where he stayed for only a few hours to meet with his Russian counterpart. Witkoff has seen putin more than half a dozen times.
The meeting is taking place at a dangerous moment in the conflict. For much of the year, Ukraine's attacks on oil refineries and other energy targets have had a devastating impact, forcing Russians to stand in line for hours to get gasoline, if they can find it at all. But the Ukrainians have run out of interceptor missiles to stop Russian missiles raining down on Ukraine, leaving Kyiv and some other cities almost defenseless.
President Trump has sought to bring russia back into the fold: he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent invited russia to take part in the Group of 20 finance ministers' meeting last week in North Carolina, despite objections from European allies. russia has been excluded from many diplomatic meetings since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Bessent discussed Trump's "peace plan" with Russia's finance minister - media31.08.26, 19:14
To remind
Zelenskyy stated that U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would visit moscow on Saturday and that Ukraine guarantees the "normal functioning of Russian airspace," while they are expected in Kyiv on Sunday.
Context
Back in July, it was reported that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner agreed to visit Kyiv for the first time as part of peace efforts to end the war.
At the end of August, it was reported that Witkoff and Kushner's visit to Ukraine, amid intensified russian missile and drone attacks on Kyiv, had been postponed but not canceled.
On September 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that a visit by U.S. President's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Kyiv could take place in the coming days, but that they would first visit moscow.
On September 3, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced "new momentum" in peace efforts to end russia's war against Ukraine, with the return of an active political and diplomatic phase, but noted that achieving this without the participation of the American side was unrealistic.
On September 4, a source in the Russian media reported that American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would visit Russia and Ukraine on Saturday and Sunday, September 5 and 6.