US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have ended their meeting in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin as the White House renews efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine, with the US pair set to visit Kyiv afterward.Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that talks lasted approximately three hours, with the US envoys leaving the Kremlin at about 11 p.m. on September 5.There was no official Kremlin or US comment immediately after the meeting.As the session started, RIA Novosti quoted Putin as saying the three men would have to address a "difficult situation" during their discussions at the Kremlin. Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had ordered a three-day halt to Russian strikes on Kyiv starting at midnight ahead of the US envoys' planned visit to the Ukrainian capital, which Russia has hammered with attacks for a week.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev (center) walks with US special representatives Jared Kushner (left) and Steve Witkoff (right) in Moscow on September 5.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had accused Russia of deliberately targeting Kyiv's two airports in September 4-5 overnight attacks in an attempt to disrupt the US envoys' visit. Other Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least five people.Prior to the envoys' arrival, US President Donald Trump said Washington had "an idea for peace" and that his team was "bringing with them a proposal to end the war," now in its fifth year since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022."I 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," Trump told reporters at the White House.He gave no details. Putin has shown no sign of compromise in recent comments, among other things insisting that Russia must control all of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, including the parts its forces have failed to capture in years of heavy fighting.
