US envoys Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Moscow for Ukraine talks

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday for negotiations aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, with Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev greeting the American representatives upon their arrival at Vnukovo Airport, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

A special jet carrying the two US envoys landed at the airport as Dmitriev arrived to meet the American representatives, Tass reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the envoys would travel to Kyiv on Sunday following their Moscow discussions, marking their first visit to the Ukrainian capital since mediation efforts began.

Trump's proposal

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said the two negotiators were traveling to Moscow with a concrete proposal rather than new options. "They're bringing with them a proposal to end the war," Trump said, referring to Witkoff and Kushner's mission to determine whether progress could be made toward a settlement.

The US president attributed some of the difficulty in reaching a settlement to the strained relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy. "It's a personality problem in Russia-Ukraine. You have President Zelensky and President Putin. They truly hate each other," Trump said, characterizing the dynamic as a barrier to peace.

Negotiation history

Witkoff and Kushner have made several trips to Moscow since US-mediated talks began, including a Jan. 22 meeting with Putin at the Kremlin, though neither has previously visited Kyiv. "They're two great negotiators. They've done a great job," Trump said, adding that "there may be a good chance" of reaching an agreement.

Moscow and Kyiv last held US-mediated peace negotiations earlier this year, with three rounds of talks on Jan. 23-24, Feb. 4-5 and Feb. 17-18. The first two rounds were held in Abu Dhabi, while the third took place in Geneva, according to previous reports.

The negotiations have since been paused, with both sides attributing the halt to Washington's focus on Iran following the outbreak of war in late February. Both Witkoff and Kushner have previously engaged with Russian officials, though this marks their first coordinated visit to Kyiv since the mediation process commenced.