US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushnerwill visit Russia and Ukraine this weekend, as efforts to end the war appear to be gathering pace. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he will meet with the envoys on Sunday, after they visit Moscow on Saturday to hold talks with meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Witkoff and Kushner have led US President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a peace deal, but a gulf remains between the two warring sides.
Earlier on Friday, Zelensky said a Russian drone hit the office of Ukraine’s security chief Oleksandr Poklad in Kyiv. Poklad appears to be unharmed.
In a post on social media, Zelensky said he had ordered Poklad, who head the SBU security service, to respond “adequately” to the attack.
Witkoff and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, have visited Russia multiple times, but the purported talks will be the first in Ukraine.
Zelensky said he would guarantee the safety of Russian airspace during the envoys’ visit and called for Russia to do the same for Ukraine.
Russia’s state news agency Tass said Witkoff and Kushner were “expected to arrive in Moscow and then to Kyiv… on 5-6 September”, quoting a source.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later told reporters: “I wouldn’t announce anything, but when these contacts take place, we will inform you.”
Meanwhile, Putin told an international economic forum on Thursday that “there are chances” a peace deal could be reached.
“First of all, Moscow and Kyiv must agree between themselves,” he said.
But he showed no sign of backing down from his maximalist demands, which included more territorial concessions from Ukraine.
Kyiv and its European allies have repeatedly rejected Putin’s terms saying they are tantamount to capitulation.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and currently controls about 20% of its territory.
By BBC News
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