US envoys Kushner and Witkoff are in Moscow to meet with Putin

 

American envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday morning to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, before they headed on the same day to Dublin to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, the day after the conclusion of Ukrainian-Russian talks in Abu Dhabi.

The two American envoys were greeted when they got off the plane at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow by the Special Representative of the Russian President, Kirill Dmitriev, according to photos obtained by Agence France-Presse.

“We welcome Steve and Jared to Moscow,” Dmitriev wrote on the X platform, accompanying his post with a video clip showing their arrival at the airport.

Their convoy left the airport at five in the morning GMT, according to Russian television.

For his part, Volodymyr Zelensky said upon his arrival in Dublin that there may be a "good chance" to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II before 2027.

He continued, "The important thing is that the Americans went to Putin with specific details. I would very much like them to come to Dublin with specific details as well," adding that despite his continued feeling of doubt, "there is hope."

The Ukrainian president also welcomed what he called a "change in tone" on the part of the United States regarding the possibility of involving Europe in the talks mediated by Washington, noting that "the American side is dealing with the matter in a more positive way."

As for NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, he considered that the negotiations that took place in the Emirates showed that the United States, Ukraine, and Europe are “fully and completely compatible.”

During these two days of direct discussions, the first in more than eight months, the two sides agreed to conduct a new large-scale prisoner exchange, while disagreeing over the role Europe should play in continuing the negotiations.

Although few concrete elements emerged from these discussions aimed at finding a way out of a war that has been going on for more than four years, the parties spoke of progress and stressed that the talks will continue.

Speaking on Russian television after this meeting, the head of the Kremlin delegation, nationalist historian Vladimir Medinsky, considered that the “main goal” of the negotiations was to create a “security system” in Europe that would be like “a new and modern Yalta and Potsdam,” referring to the two conferences held in 1945 between Western leaders and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to establish security arrangements in Europe after World War II.

- “Largest” prisoner exchange -

At the end of October, Zelensky, commenting on the possibility of a meeting between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping, announced his opposition to “Yalta 2, 3, or 4,” including a redistribution of spheres of influence between Washington, Moscow, and Beijing.

In order to continue the momentum achieved in recent days, Jared Kushner announced that he will meet in Moscow, accompanied by Steve Witkoff, Vladimir Putin in order to “review what was discussed” in Abu Dhabi and “try to achieve further progress,” and then head to Dublin in order to continue the discussion with Volodymyr Zelensky.

On the Russian side, Vladimir Medinsky stated that the “discussion” would continue, before later confirming on Russian television that Moscow would not sign any agreement except according to its terms, and that he personally did not see possibilities for exchanging lands.

Zelensky and the United States have called on Europe to choose who will represent it in the talks, but European officials said they do not expect the leaders to make decisions about appointing a unified envoy for any potential talks with Russia.

After two days of talks, Ukraine and Russia agreed to a prisoner exchange, which would be the "largest" since the start of the war, according to Kushner, although the two sides of the conflict did not announce the number of people who would be released.