Sept. 5—Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner flew in and out of Moscow today on assignment from President Donald Trump, making their eighth visit to the Russian capital, but the first one since January of this year. They are expected to travel to Kiev tomorrow to meet with acting president Volodymyr Zelensky. Speaking yesterday after a pre-trip meeting with his emissaries, Trump told the press that “the U.S. had a vision of what peace agreements between Russia and Ukraine could look like,” in the words of TASS.
Taking part with Putin in the talks at the Kremlin, which lasted three hours and ten minutes including informal conversation over dinner, were his foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, Russian special presidential envoy for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries and director general of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). Ushakov gave a short briefing to the press after the talks.
Both in welcoming remarks, shown by the Kremlin in a video post and as reported by Ushakov from the talks themselves, Putin thanked Trump for “his efforts regarding the settlement in Ukraine and for his sincere desire to help reach mutually acceptable solutions as soon as possible.” At the same time, it was clear from Ushakov’s summary that what Putin said this past week in press availabilities at both the Bishkek SCO summit and the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok holds firm: that Moscow is ready to listen to anybody who visits with ideas for resolving the conflict, but, as Ushakov put it, “confidence was expressed [by the Russian side] that the objectives set [for the Special Military Operation] will be achieved; and, of course, the need to eliminate all the root causes of the conflict was emphasized.” Ushakov termed the conversation about “these very serious issues” as “substantive, constructive, extremely frank, and marked by mutual trust,” as well as “timely and highly productive.”
He elaborated that “the Russian side provided a clear and comprehensive assessment of the situation that has unfolded during the special military operation. In particular, note was made of the Russian army’s tangible progress in the combat zone.” Ushakov drew attention to how “the American side took note of a point our President specifically highlighted: namely, that the Kiev regime has ceased to conceal its true nature, having proceeded to rebury some of the most notorious Nazi war criminals.”
According to Ushakov, Witkoff and Kushner “promised to make use, during their meetings in Kiev tomorrow, of the observations and assessments they received personally from the Russian President regarding the path to a lasting, peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.” He added that the Americans “had prepared thoroughly for this visit,” and “not only expressed the traditional interest in an early end to hostilities, but also outlined a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement.”
Besides Ukraine, Ushakov said, “there was a fairly detailed discussion of economic issues and potential major, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects.” The heads of state intend to remain in contact, and a continuing role for Witkoff and Kushner is foreseen.
To promote the American shuttle diplomacy, Kiev yesterday announced a four-day ceasefire from Sept. 5-8, and Putin ordered a three-day suspension of strikes on Kiev. When welcoming Witkoff and Kushner, Putin made a special point of the fact that Moscow received the request from Ukraine “through official channels—both through the intelligence services and through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—to stop the strikes on Kiev.” The broader truce the Ukrainian government had announced, he added, was not something discussed or agreed with Moscow. “Yet we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the negotiation process and the mediators,” Putin added.
Axios, among others, takes note of the fact that this trip takes place “10 days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with the heads of the Russian intelligence and security services in Moscow.”
