Trump’s Ukraine peace plan takes shape after envoys hold major talks with Putin
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner seemingly held successful peace talks with Vladimir Putin yesterday (September 5).
The envoys were met at the airport by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Tass reported. Dmitriev shared photos of him meeting the US delegation as they disembarked, alongside the caption, 'Welcome to Moscow Peacemakers'.
They were also given a warm welcome the Russian president upon their arrival.
In footage aired by Russian TV, Putin said to the envoys: "Dear colleagues, I warmly welcome you to Moscow. The situation is, of course, not simple. But before we begin to address it, I would like to ask everyone to convey their best wishes and words of gratitude to US president Mr Trump."
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Witkoff and Kushner then 'discussed substantive plans for next steps' for peace between Russia and Ukraine in their meeting with Putin following four years of conflict.
The last known visit to Moscow by Witkoff and Kushner – who is president Donald Trump’s son-in-law – was in January, when they met Putin in the Kremlin.
While things are 'not simple', the talks seems to have been quite positive meaning a peace plan in finally taking shape.
A White House official said that the plans come to light in 'the coming weeks', The Guardian reports.
The White House official went on to say that the two US envoys were looking forward to having 'equally productive' meetings in Ukraine (which are set to take place today).
Also speaking out on yesterday's meeting, the Kremlin said that Witkoff and Kushner had a 'number of ideas' on how to stop the ongoing conflict, adding that the talks were 'extremely frank' between them and Putin.
Ahead of their trip to Kyiv, Putin ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on the capital, the Kremlin said.
"Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today," presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s Tass news agency following yesterday's meeting between Witkoff, Kushner, and Putin.
He said the decision was tied to preparations for the US envoys' planned visit to the Ukrainian capital.
It was Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy who first made this move, and said on Friday that Ukraine would halt air strikes during the envoys' visit to Russia – and urged Moscow to do the same.
Prior to yesterday's meeting, peace talks had undeniably stalled as Russia and Ukraine continued to issue drone hits on one another.
On Friday, a Russian drone hit one of the most important government buildings in Kyiv – the headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service known as the SBU, which is one of the agencies involved in carrying out deep-strike operations inside Russia.
Elsewhere, long-range strikes by Ukraine have hit Russian military facilities, oil refineries and e-commerce hubs, seeking to undermine the Kremlin’s war effort and economy, as well as make ordinary citizens feel the consequences of the war.
Topics: Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, World News, Politics, Russia, Ukraine
Niamh Shackleton