US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said he will travel to Moscow on Thursday with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Washington pushes forward with discussions on ending the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Witkoff said the delegation plans to discuss a proposed 20-point framework to end the war, which he said is more than 90% complete.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
According to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg, Putin received a draft of the peace plan earlier this month through his aide Kirill Dmitriev.
The document was passed to Moscow informally for review, allowing the Kremlin to prepare feedback and propose changes ahead of the expected visit by Witkoff and Kushner.
The Kremlin views the proposal as a step forward, the sources said, though it is not a finalized agreement and contains provisions Moscow considers unacceptable. Still, Russian officials see the inclusion of sensitive issues – and the fact that work has begun on them – as a positive sign.
Witkoff said he believes Putin wants a peace agreement with Ukraine, even as Moscow has shown no public willingness to compromise on key demands, including control over parts of eastern Ukraine.
“Everyone wants to get to a peace deal,” Witkoff said.
Asked about Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that have left large parts of Kyiv without electricity, heating and running water in freezing temperatures, Witkoff declined to condemn the strikes.
Putin’s Death or Ukraine Military Victory Needed for Lasting Peace, Ex-Canadian General Says
“They are in a war, they are shooting at each other,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the planned talks, telling RBC that the meeting appears on Putin’s schedule for Thursday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that Moscow has not officially received any new documents from recent negotiations involving US, Ukrainian and Russian officials.
Witkoff has met with Putin six times over the past year, since Trump returned to the White House. Their most recent meeting took place on Dec. 2 in Moscow and lasted about five hours. Putin later described the talks as “necessary and useful,” but has so far rejected the revised 20-point framework to end the war.
Moscow said dialogue with Washington continues but warned that proposals by the UK and France to deploy troops to Ukraine after a ceasefire would make them “legitimate targets.”
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
