Washington, Sep 06 (V7N)- The United States has launched a fresh diplomatic initiative aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, with President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner scheduled to travel to Kyiv on Sunday (September 6) after holding lengthy talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Witkoff and Kushner met Putin at the Kremlin for around three hours on Saturday (September 5). They later had dinner with the Russian president. The Kremlin released video footage of the meeting.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov described the talks as “useful” and said the US delegation arrived well prepared. According to him, Washington is interested in securing a rapid ceasefire and ending the conflict.

Ushakov said several proposals and issues concerning possible ways to end the war were discussed. Witkoff and Kushner are expected to present their assessments from the meeting with Putin to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during their talks in Kyiv.

A White House official said the meeting also covered several important plans for the next stage of the diplomatic process, some of which could be announced in the coming weeks.

The planned Kyiv visit will be Witkoff and Kushner’s first since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Their trip comes amid continued Russian missile and drone attacks around the Ukrainian capital.

Zelensky said Ukraine is facing a shortage of air-defense missiles, leaving the country vulnerable to Russian ballistic missile attacks. He also reported strikes on two airports near Kyiv, including Boryspil Airport, which handled international flights before the war.

According to Zelensky, the airport attacks may have been linked to preparations for the possible arrival of the US delegation by air. Since the beginning of the war, foreign leaders have generally traveled to Kyiv by rail from Poland.

Meanwhile, Putin has ordered a temporary three-day halt to Russian attacks on Kyiv in connection with the US delegation’s visit. However, Moscow has made clear that no broader ceasefire agreement has been reached.

Zelensky said Ukraine was also prepared to refrain from attacking Moscow during the US delegation’s visit and expressed hope that Russia would take similar measures.

At the beginning of Saturday’s meeting, Putin acknowledged that the discussions would not be easy and asked the US representatives to convey his greetings and gratitude to Trump.

Witkoff described the talks as significant in the context of the ongoing diplomatic efforts. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev also participated in the meeting, with Dmitriev calling it an “important peacemaking initiative.”

Trump had earlier praised Witkoff and Kushner as “great negotiators” and said they were carrying a proposal aimed at ending the war. He expressed optimism that the initiative had a good chance of succeeding.

However, the Kremlin has remained cautious. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were no indications that entirely new proposals were being discussed, referring to Trump’s own earlier comments.

The focus now turns to the US delegation’s Kyiv visit and whether the discussions in Moscow and Kyiv can produce meaningful progress toward a ceasefire and a broader settlement of the Ukraine conflict.

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