Ukraine: Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin in Moscow
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Le Monde and Dakaractu
The two US envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, arrived in Moscow on Thursday to meet Vladimir Putin before travelling to Dublin to meet Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian-Russian talks in Abu Dhabi. According to Le Monde, their trip is part of renewed diplomatic contacts between Washington, Kyiv and Moscow.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Thursday morning to meet Vladimir Putin, then are due to travel the same day to Dublin to see Volodymyr Zelensky, after Ukrainian-Russian talks ended the previous day in Abu Dhabi, according to Le Monde.
The two envoys were welcomed at Vnukovo Airport by Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president’s special representative. Their convoy left the airport at 05:00 GMT, according to Russian television.
On his arrival in Dublin, Volodymyr Zelensky said that a “window of opportunity” could make it possible to reach a ceasefire before 2027. He said he hoped the US envoys would return from Moscow with “concrete elements”, while expressing scepticism. He also referred to a change in the United States' tone regarding Europe’s participation in the discussions.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the negotiations held in the United Arab Emirates showed that the United States, Ukraine and Europe were “totally aligned and united”. During these two days of direct talks, the first in more than eight months, the two sides agreed on a new major prisoner exchange, while remaining at odds over Europe’s role in continuing the negotiations.
