Witkoff, Kushner Take US Peace Push to Kyiv

Synopsis

The war is close to its end, and the United States is stepping up the pressure, with special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on September 6, following more than three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

A Weekend of High-Stakes Shuttle Diplomacy

The latest, visible, step toward peace on Ukraine was taken over the weekend in Washington, when its two top envoys made a rare back-to-back trip to both warring capitals.

Moscow First

The weekend of diplomacy started with a 3-hour meeting with Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday afternoon, followed by dinner with the Russian leader, by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

“The talks were useful,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said, “the American representatives were seriously prepared for this trip” and that the Americans voiced the desire to end the conflict as soon as possible.”

Specifically, Ushakov reported that the discussion "went beyond the front lines to the economic field and included the possibility of creating common projects in the economic sphere between Russia and the United States", he added.

But Putin did not make any specific concessions. Putin later did not show any flexibility, however, and Ushakov told Russian state media that Putin told both Ushkoff and Kushner it was "necessary to eliminate all root causes" of the conflict.

Both leaders signed a "no-shoot" pact, and during the visit, Witkoff expressed his gratitude to Putin for his support for such a temporary measure around Kyiv and Moscow to enable the delegation's safe travel, but they did not sign any agreements during the visit.

On Sunday, it was the first time since the full-scale Russian invasion launched in February 2022 that the envoys met in Kyiv with Zelenskyy. The tone from the Ukrainian side was cool but positive: Witkoff called the talks "substantive" and said he was "very encouraged," but Kushner said "we learned a lot from the trip" and that "further discussion will be forthcoming later today, in conjunction with European security leaders.

This is the current status of the Talks

It remains an impasse, and a diplomatic formality. President Trump had indicated that the envoys were proposing fresh ideas but Zelenskyy has exhibited little interest in Moscow's demands on territory, which have been deadlocks to previous rounds of US-brokered talks.

Divergent Timelines

There has been a remarkable difference in opinion regarding the date for peace. A source close to the talks said the Americans are hoping to bring the war to a conclusion before winter, but that would not seem to be happening anytime soon, as Zelenskyy's office chief, Kyrylo Budanov, is said to believe that Russia is not prepared to talk until spring or summer 2027.

Why It Matters

The optics of the visit — one in which the envoys were travelling by rail route into a city that has been hit by Russian missiles and drones nearly every day for months, even a hit on the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service just days before the delegation arrived — underscore the fragility and urgency of the current diplomatic space.

Outlook

The White House has indicated that more information on future action would be coming "in the coming weeks," so allies and foes alike are closely watching to see if this latest iteration of shuttle diplomacy has results more lasting than past ones.