Kremlin says no talks with US envoys planned this week

The Kremlin on Tuesday dismissed reports of imminent diplomatic engagement with Washington, stating that no talks with US envoys are scheduled for this week despite earlier speculation that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner might visit Moscow to revive stalled Ukraine peace negotiations.

No meetings scheduled

Speaking to reporters during his daily press briefing, Peskov explicitly ruled out any meetings with American officials in the coming days. "No, there are no such plans," he said, directly contradicting a Tass report from early August that suggested Witkoff and Kushner could arrive within seven to ten days to jumpstart negotiations. The two US envoys last met Putin in Moscow in late January, and Lavrov said on August 14 that the Russian president remained ready to receive them if they brought substantive proposals.

Western 'aggression' condemned

Peskov also took aim at Western leaders including Finnish President Alexander Stubb and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, saying their statements indicated a continued aggressive stance toward Russia. "They want the war to continue. They're deceiving their voters, telling them that Russia could be defeated. … And they apparently refuse to acknowledge the realities on the ground," he said. The spokesman reaffirmed Moscow's opposition to the deployment of NATO military contingents in Ukraine and rejected the idea of a "free economic zone" in the country's eastern Donbas region.

US military plane in Moscow

Questions over potential US-Russia contacts intensified following the arrival of a US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport on Tuesday morning, according to Flightradar24 data. The aircraft, which flew from Riga after originating near Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, departed Moscow later that evening, with CBS News reporting that CIA Director John Ratcliffe was aboard for high-level meetings — a claim neither Moscow nor Washington has officially confirmed. If verified, the visit would mark the first such trip by a CIA chief since William Burns traveled to Moscow in 2021, with Axios reporting that Washington asked Kyiv to suspend strikes until the delegation departed.