Envoys Witkoff and Kushner Hold Peace Talks in Moscow and Kyiv

President Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Moscow on Saturday for over three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and then to Kyiv on Sunday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Key Context: Ahead of the talks, Trump told reporters, "We have an idea for peace. I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we'll do it." Both Russia and Ukraine agreed to refrain from striking each other's capitals during the visits.

Moscow Talks: Mainstream reporting mostly focused on quotes from Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov. Ushakov told reporters that Witkoff and Kushner were "seriously prepared" for the meeting, which was "substantive, constructive, extremely candid and trusting." He said US envoys presented "a number of considerations regarding possible paths toward a settlement," and that "tangible advances of the Russian army in the combat zone were noted. And it was acknowledged that negotiations must be aimed at eliminating the root causes of the conflict." The two sides also discussed "in considerable detail" potential "major, mutually beneficial Russian-American" economic projects, according to Yushakov. Witkoff reportedly thanked Putin for the recent release of Robert Gilman, a former Marine who had been imprisoned in Russia.

Journey to Kyiv: Witkoff and Kushner flew out of Moscow and landed in Rzeszów, Poland, around 1:30 a.m. CEST on Sunday. They then proceeded by train to Kyiv, where they were greeted by several of Ukraine's top ministers, according to The Kyiv Independent (Center), which said they had to travel by rail because "Russian strikes prevented a flight." The outlet also reported that, according to "two people familiar with the matter… national security advisors from Germany, France, and the UK are also expected to attend the discussions."

Kyiv Talks: Zelenskyy said the discussions were "good" and included "several new ideas" but did not elaborate on what the ideas were. He said he was "grateful that, despite the long hiatus," there were "some form of negotiations" and that "Ukraine, Europe, and the US will meet in the near future." Zelenskyy also said the US will "increase the production" of "Patriot systems next year" because Ukraine is "counting on such systems to protect our state."

RELATED: How Conservative Western Media Spun a Female Biologist Into a 'Russian Escort' | AllSides

US Side: After the Kyiv talks, Kushner told reporters, "One thing Steve and I really thought would be productive is to go back to the trilateral format, which we were able to do about six months ago." Reflecting on previous trilateral negotiations, he said, "Everyone was speaking, you know, in Russian to each other and really discussing these issues in a very actually friendly manner, all in Russian." Zelenskyy said Ukraine must do "everything possible" to make these trilateral talks happen. The Kyiv Independent reported speaking to "a source familiar with the matter" who said Trump is expected to speak with Putin and Zelenskyy after his September 7 briefing.

Split Framing: Kremlin-funded RT (Lean Right) and CNN (Lean Left) both highlighted optimistic quotes from Witkoff in headlines after the Kyiv talks concluded on Sunday. Conversely, The Kyiv Independent framed the talks as a failure and quoted Zelenskyy, who said "the war will continue," in its headline.

Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.