Kremlin Says Peace Talks Useful as US Envoys Leave Moscow for Kyiv

Russian President Vladimir Putin held more than three hours of “highly useful” talks on Saturday with two U.S. envoys seeking a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine to end their four and a half-year conflict, a Kremlin aide said.

Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner “outlined a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement.”

“The talks went beyond a mere exchange of views on resolving the Ukrainian crisis. Economic issues and potential major, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects were discussed in some detail,” he said. He did not elaborate.

“Overall, one can say that the negotiations were timely and highly useful for both sides.”

Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow’s ​governmental airport on Saturday as both Kyiv and Moscow agreed to a three-day pause on strikes on the capital cities to ensure the envoys’ safety.

In recent weeks, Russia and Ukraine have intensified their long-range air strikes while the situation at the front lines of the conflict has remained largely static.

The U.S. envoys were greeted by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who shared photos of the arrival in an X post with the caption, “Welcome to Moscow Peacemakers @SteveWitkoff and @jaredkushner!” The post included a dove emoji at the end.

Witkoff and Kushner then met with Putin at the Kremlin.

Putin opened the talks by admitting that the process would not be simple, then sent his “best wishes and words of gratitude” to U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a translated transcript of the meeting provided by the Kremlin.

“While he understands that he’s entering a difficult situation overall, he’s not stopping his efforts to resolve and contribute to the resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” Putin said, while speaking about Trump during Saturday’s meeting. “Today, we’ll discuss all its components, all aspects, and we, for our part, are ready to inform you of our view of the situation.”

Putin said he’s comfortable working with Witkoff and Kushner, saying “the level of trust we have in this process is certainly quite high.”

The Russian president also confirmed that he had ordered a 72-hour pause on strikes in Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv, for the U.S. special representatives’ visit.

Witkoff and Kushner declined to comment to reporters after the meeting. They flew out soon after the talks to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

It was their first time visiting Moscow since January on behalf of President Donald Trump. That round of U.S.-mediated peace talks did not produce any breakthroughs, with each side intensifying long-range air attacks deep inside the other’s territory, and escalating their war at sea.

Ushakov said after the meeting that Putin told the Americans that Russia remained confident of achieving its goals in the war, and stressed the necessity of addressing “all the root causes of the conflict” in the peace efforts.

The Kremlin on Friday said its position set out by Putin in a speech two years ago—that Ukraine should cede the entire territory of four regions claimed by Russia and abandon its plan to join NATO—was “unshakeable.” Ukraine has refused to surrender the land it has successfully defended at huge cost, saying such an action would be tantamount to surrender.

Dmitriev, who was also present at the meeting, posted afterwards on X that it had been an “important peacemaking visit.”

On Sunday, the two U.S. envoys will meet with officials in Kyiv, which was confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“From the moment of this conversation, we are ready to observe a ceasefire in airstrikes against the cities involved in the negotiation process,” Zelenskyy wrote in an X post on Sept. 5.

Zelenskyy added that he is ready for a “substantive conversation.”

Over the last 10 days, Russia pounded Kyiv day and night with missiles and drones, including an attack on Friday on the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine.

Ukraine had inflicted damaging hits throughout the summer on Russian refineries, oil terminals, and warehouses of online retailer Wildberries, in its efforts to stop Moscow from continuing the war.

A separate ceasefire, brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, was underway on Saturday at the ‌Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.

The pause in fighting was made to allow repairs to restore external power to the plant, which has relied on emergency ​diesel generators to cool its vital safety systems since Aug. 20.

Reuters contributed to this report.