Ukraine-Russia war latest: No sign of breakthrough in Putin’s ‘highly useful’ peace talks as Trump envoys head to Kyiv
Russian president Vladimir Putin held more than three hours of talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow as Donald Trump’s administration stepped up efforts to broker an end to the Ukraine war.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the talks were “substantive, constructive and extremely frank”, but he gave no indication of any breakthrough.
He added that “the negotiations were timely and highly useful for both sides”. He said the US envoys “outlined a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement”, while Putin “reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to continue working with the US to find a political and diplomatic solution” to the conflict.
Putin told the envoys that Russia was making “real progress” on the battlefield, and that “all the root causes of the conflict” needed to be addressed.
Witkoff and Kushner have since left Moscow and are due to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.
Putin said he had ordered Russian forces to halt strikes on Kyiv after receiving a request through diplomatic and intelligence channels, while Ukraine has said it will similarly refrain from striking Moscow through Monday.
