Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
News

US in talks with Russia and Ukraine

6 September 2026

U.S. negotiators visit Moscow and Kyiv these days as Washington seeks to revive diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin, said on its website, 

Vladimir Putin received in the Kremlin Special Envoy of the President of the United States of America Steve Witkoff and entrepreneur, founder of Affinity Partners Jared Kushner.

On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov and Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dimitriev.

Welcoming the US delegation, President of Russia Vladimir Putin said: 

Colleagues, I heartily welcome you to Moscow.

The situation we are to sort out today is, of course, a difficult one.

But before we begin, I would like to ask you to convey my best wishes and words of gratitude to the President of the United States, Mr Trump.

While he realizes that he is facing a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to resolve it and to contribute to the settlement of the Russian‑Ukrainian conflict. Today, we will discuss all its components and all its aspects, and for our part, we are also ready to inform you about our view of the situation.

As you informed us, I know that you are planning to go to Kiev after visiting Moscow. In any case, of course, no matter what happens next, contacts of this kind are certainly always beneficial. And here, of course, the quality of mediation and trust in those who are engaged in it are very important. I’d like to tell you that we find it comfortable to work with you, and, of course, we have a very high level of trust during this work.

We are glad to see you. Welcome.

Replying, Steve Witkoff said: 

So, first of all, President Putin, thank you so much for having us.

We were sitting outside just now, me, Jared and Kirill, and then Yury joined us, and we were all talking about when we retire, we'll have all these incredible stories and incredible memories, and yours will be right at the top of it all.

President Trump sends you his best wishes. The Gilman family is incredibly indebted to you and thanks you very, very much for Bob Gilman being allowed to come home.

Vladimir Putin: They should be thanking President Trump; it was he who made the appeal.

Steve Witkoff: They have thanked President Trump, but they’ve thanked you also, sir.

I want to thank you for endorsing the no shoot policy in Kiev and in Moscow for these three days that allowed us to be able to come here in a safe manner.

Vladimir Putin: We received this request through official channels – both through the intelligence services and through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – to stop the strikes on Kiev. I issued the respective order, and since midnight on September 5, these strikes on Kiev have not been carried out.

I would like to note that the Ukrainian side has also significantly reduced – by an order of magnitude – the strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, including Moscow.

The Ukrainian authorities have published their call for a broader three‑day truce, but we have never agreed on this with them. Yet we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the negotiation process and the mediators, represented by you and, perhaps, by those accompanying you.

Steve Witkoff: Thank you.

In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday (September 3). In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said preliminary dates had been established for the visits and stressed the importance of continued American involvement. “It is important that America continues to be active,” he said.

The announcement came as Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that he believed an agreement could still be reached. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Thursday (September 3), Putin said there was a “chance” for peace and argued that the conflict ultimately had to be resolved by Russia and Ukraine. He also acknowledged the involvement of countries including the United States and China in efforts to support a settlement.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the developments could create a “new dynamic” in diplomatic efforts, with political and diplomatic engagement becoming active again across several capitals. Previous U.S. and European attempts to broker an agreement have failed to produce a settlement, while disagreements over territory, security guarantees and Ukraine’s military alignment remain unresolved. CIA Director John Ratcliffe also reportedly visited Moscow the previous week to warn against escalation.

U.S. President Donald Trump separately said Thursday that he wanted the war and its casualties to end, telling GB News, “I just want to see that end. I think we’ll get it.” He had previously said he wanted to meet Putin for a summit once the Russian leader was prepared to pursue a peace agreement.

Despite the renewed diplomatic signals, fighting continued. Russian drones struck a Coca-Cola plant near Brovary outside Kyiv, while a Russian attack on Kyiv injured 10 people and severely damaged a residential high-rise. In Russia’s Belgorod region, Ukrainian strikes killed four people, including two medical workers, according to regional officials.

Tensions also remained high between Russia and Europe. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Russia would close German cultural centres in retaliation for tensions with Berlin, following Germany’s accusation that Moscow was behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport in August.

Source: commonspace.eu with kremlin.ru (Moscow), CNBC (New York) and The Guardian (London).

 

Latest

Editor's choice
Monday Commentary
Monday Commentary: PEACE IN OUR TIME?
Trending

Monday Commentary: PEACE IN OUR TIME?

19 October 2026
Making peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan was never going to be simple, nor easy, nor quick. It is taking time, writes Dennis Sammut in this Monday Commentary. “There is a sense of realism coming from the leaders of the two countries – President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and prime minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, that frankly, is necessary and welcome”, he writes. At a time when conflicts are raging all over the world – from Ukraine to the Gulf, from Africa to South Asia, the prospect that Armenia and Azerbaijan had finally, after decades of conflict that left thousands of dead and many more displaced, decided on embarking on a journey of peace was welcomed. Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan can be top-down up to a point. Both leaders have spent political capital preparing for a peace deal. But both are aware that their people are not ready for peace yet. In fact, in Armenia, most of the elite are negative toward a peace deal with Azerbaijan. Pashinyan needs time to persuade his countryfolk. That is why 2031 is realistic. Ilham Aliyev runs a tighter shop, but he is also not immune to public opinion. Every time someone hits a landmine in Karabakh, which unfortunately happens often, peace comes into question. Which is why Aliyev chooses to sound hardline, more often than not. In pursuing the peace agenda, both Aliyev and Pashinyan need to proceed cautiously. But they are right in making peace the central issue in their agenda. It is the main issue, and the one that will define them in history. So forward, cautiously but resolutely! In pursuing the peace agenda, Aliyev and Pashinyan need to be supported clearly and unambiguously. There are too many people in Baku and Yerevan who are sitting on the sides, waiting. The international community is not doing enough. It is time to be counted. Otherwise, the spoilers will win, and the region will go back to its bad habits. (Click the image to read the full commentary).
Dennis Sammut

Popular

Editor's choice
Monday Commentary
Monday Commentary: European-Azerbaijan relations need an intensive and multifaceted dialogue that is frank and honest
Trending

Monday Commentary: European-Azerbaijan relations need an intensive and multifaceted dialogue that is frank and honest

7 September 2026
Last week I visited Baku, Azerbaijan. My visit was relatively short, but very intensive, and had many meetings with stakeholders and colleagues. When I arrived in Baku first time in 1996,  Azerbaijan was a different country: weak, poor, and shaken by defeat in war. For thirty year the Karabakh issue dominated the agenda: the political agenda but also the popular mindset. Now, thirty years later, Azerbaijan has returned to Karabakh, and peace with Armenia is on the horizon. It is a new era for Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, for the South Caucasus, but also for Europe.  But we cannot be complacent: the Peace agreement has been initialed but not signed; borders remain closed; TRIPP is ambitious but remains an idea; and there are spoilers who want to turn the clock back. We must not allow them, and in this Europe and Azerbaijan must work together. Europe’ vanguard organization is the European Union – it is a free union of 27 member states; it is a strong global economic force, and increasingly a diplomatic and military force too. But it remains “work in progress” and can often appear dysfunctional. It often lacks collective and institutional memory. In its dealings with Azerbaijan the EU has made many mistakes – not least opening the delegation here late – in 2008. It sometimes appears condescending. Some utterances from the European Parliament and from some quarters in some member states are not understandable even for me. They irritate the Azerbaijanis, but serve no other purpose But Azerbaijan has also not handled relations with the EU well. It has failed to respond when the hand of friendship reached out; and it confused irritating actions, sometimes by well-meaning people; sometimes by outright spoilers, with strategic action. In short, EU-Azerbaijan relations have suffered from a lack of proper dialogue. This dialogue must be frank, honest and multi-faceted involving different segments of society on both sides.   Is Azerbaijan Europe? When Azerbaijan applied to join the Council of Europe in the 1990s, there were some who opposed, saying this was not Europe. I was one of the people who argued that Armenia and Azerbaijan may be on the periphery of the continent geographically, but were European in essence. Certainly their elites. During the discussion on 4 September in Baku, my friend Farhad Mammedov, mentioned that Azerbaijan is not interested in joining the EU, and was now close to the Central Asian countries in the 5 plus 1 format. Neither things mean that Azerbaijan is not Europe. There are several European countries that are not in the EU, and do not want to be, for example Norway and Switzerland. Iceland has recently voted to stay out of the EU. The UK was a member and left. Europe is bigger than the EU, and the holding of the European Political Community summit in Baku in 2027 proves that. Despite all the rhetoric, I never heard the president of Azerbaijan  saying that Azerbaijan is not Europe, nor have I heard any European president say it either. Not wanting to join the EU and forging close relations with neighbouring regions does not make Azerbaijan any less European. It is only logical that when Europeans talk to Azerbaijan they talk like family. The conversation is often frank. It must also be honest, and Europeans need always to remember this too. A frank, honest and multi-faceted dialogue A frank, honest and multifaceted dialogue will contribute to relations between Azerbaijan and the rest of Europe: it will avoid misperception, which unfortunately is very common on both sides; it will provide a forum where problems can be discussed and resolved, and it will increase mutual trust, so that together common problems can be addressed. (click image to read the full Monday Commentary)
Dennis Sammut
Editor's choice
Monday Commentary
Monday Commentary: “The barren rocks of Aden” and “These lands of Yemen are so ruthless”
Trending

Monday Commentary: “The barren rocks of Aden” and “These lands of Yemen are so ruthless”

21 September 2026
There are two early 20th-century tunes that mark foreign attempts to occupy and “pacify” Yemen. The Scottish tune “The barren rocks of Aden” marks the mobilisation of Highland soldiers, enlisted to be deployed to the Yemeni port of Aden, that in 1837 became the last colony to be incorporated into the British Empire. The tune talks of the harshness of the terrain, but is celebratory, It was even played as a farewell tune to Sir William Luce at the parade in Sharjah celebrating his end as “British Viceroy” in the Middle East in 1966. The second tune is an Anatolian lament. As Ilker Sezer reminded us this weekend, in his weekly feature on “Turkiye Today”, it “mourns the tragic fate of Ottoman soldiers dispatched to the harsh, remote deserts of Yemen during the fall of the empire, young men who marched away from their villages and never returned home. Most of their names, and numbers, were never recorded. Yet, their fate left a mark on the Turkish psyche.” Subsequent invaders have discovered that Yemen is a grave that cannot be overcome by the strength of modern technology, and that whilst Yemeni society is splintered and divided, building a reliable alliance with Yemeni factions is difficult. These are the harsh lessons facing Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom faces its biggest challenge in its modern history. The leadership of the Kingdom now has to respond decisively. At stake is their very credibility. This is likely to be a long and messy conflict. Saudi military objectives need to be focused: to box in the Houthis rather than destroy them. This is likely to include: (a) regaining territory lost on the Red Sea coast; (b) control over Bab el Mandeb Strait; (c) some kind of cordon sanitaire on the Saudi-Yemeni border; and if things go well (d) the capture of Sanaa. All this would not eliminate the Houthi problem, but it will contain it. In the end the Saudis will have to continue managing Yemen with a mixture of carrot and stick. For the moment, the stick is likely, but the carrot cannot be forgotten either. (click the image to read the Monday Commentary in full)
Dennis Sammut