Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with U.S. Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkov, and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, at the Kremlin on Thursday evening. The discussions focused on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s aide for foreign policy affairs, and Kirill Dmitriev, the President’s representative for investment and foreign cooperation, also attended the meeting from the Russian side. Witkov and Kushner arrived in Moscow on Thursday evening, following their attendance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, alongside President Trump and his team.
This meeting comes hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that a draft agreement to end the war with Russia is nearing completion. Zelenskyy also affirmed that he and Trump have agreed on U.S. security guarantees for Kyiv within the framework of any potential peace agreement.
Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security Council, announced on Sunday that Ukrainian negotiators held ‘substantial’ talks with U.S. envoys Witkov and Kushner in the United States.
President Donald Trump has stated that reaching an agreement between Russia and Ukraine is ‘reasonably close’. ‘We need to stop this war,’ Trump said, adding, ‘I think they are now at a stage where they can meet and make a deal.’ He further commented, ‘If they don’t, they are stupid,’ referring to Putin and Zelenskyy, accusing Zelenskyy of being the ‘main obstacle to reaching an agreement’.
This meeting is part of a series of discussions held by the United States with Russia and Ukraine separately, as well as with several European leaders, regarding various drafts of a plan to end the war in Ukraine. However, despite repeated promises from Trump, no agreement has been reached to date.
Background: The Russian military operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. Moscow insists that Kyiv abandon its aspirations to join Western military alliances as a precondition for ending its military action, a demand the latter considers an infringement on its sovereignty.
