US President Donald Trump’s peace envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, faced pointed questions in Kyiv last Sunday (September 6) after holding three-hour talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow the previous day. The discussions formed part of renewed US-led efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, but produced no announced breakthrough.
During a press conference in Kyiv alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, journalist Dmytro Gordon questioned the envoys’ engagement with Putin, asking whether the Russian leader had been misleading Trump and whether it was appropriate to meet with what he described as an “international war criminal.”
Witkoff and Kushner subsequently held talks with Zelenskyy, who described the discussions as “very substantive.” Zelenskyy said Ukraine remained prepared for trilateral negotiations involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States. Nevertheless, despite these efforts at diplomatic activity, Zelenskyy said on Sunday (September 6) that the war appeared likely to continue into the winter. He said Ukraine hoped to reach agreements with Washington while relying on European support if fighting continued. He also maintained that the most difficult territorial questions could only be resolved through direct discussions between national leaders. On Monday (September 7), in a post on X, he once again urged all sides to “keep diplomacy going,” saying further meetings and communications were being prepared. He also said representatives from France, Germany and the United Kingdom had participated in three rounds of negotiations.
The diplomatic meetings also caused Russia to announce a three-day pause in attacks on Kyiv during the US envoys’ visit, while Ukraine refrained from striking Moscow during the same period.
Trump is expected to speak separately with Putin and Zelenskyy by phone on Monday (September 7), as Washington continues its efforts to advance negotiations.
Source: commonspace.eu with Deutsche Welle (Bonn) and The Independent (London).
