United States Special Envoy Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of American President Donald Trump, plan to visit Moscow and Kyiv in the coming days for diplomatic talks, according to a report by Russian state news agency TASS.
A source speaking to the news agency confirmed the upcoming travel plans when asked about the visits. The agency source confirmed that representatives from the American administration intend to travel to both capitals shortly to meet with officials regarding the ongoing conflict.
Witkoff serves as a special envoy for Donald Trump, while Kushner is a prominent American businessman who previously served as a senior advisor during Trump's first presidential administration. Both envoys have been tasked with leading high-level diplomatic discussions on behalf of the White House.
Meetings planned in Russian and Ukrainian capitals
The planned visits follow statements from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who previously announced that negotiators from Trump's team would conduct new meetings in Moscow and Kyiv in the coming days. Zelenskyy stated that the talks would focus directly on negotiating a potential settlement to the military conflict.
Zelenskyy also noted that the respective parties involved in the talks have already agreed on preliminary dates for the upcoming visits to both the Russian and Ukrainian capitals.
Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine and the centre of its national government, while Moscow serves as the capital of Russia and the seat of the Kremlin. TASS, which published the report confirming the visits, is a major government owned news agency based in Russia.
Direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv
The scheduled visits also follow remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding international mediation efforts. Putin stated that Moscow and Kyiv must first and foremost negotiate directly with each other to resolve their disputes, adding that third nations can only assist the two sides in achieving a settlement.
Putin explicitly stated that this principle applies not only to mediator efforts from the United States, but also to other global powers including China. Beijing has previously presented its own peace framework to encourage diplomatic dialogue between the warring nations.
Negotiators from Trump's team are preparing for the upcoming meetings in Moscow and Kyiv after agreeing on preliminary dates for the visits to both capitals.
