(AFP) – Russian leader Vladimir Putin began talks with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on ending more than four years of war with Ukraine in the Kremlin Saturday, ahead of their first visit to Kyiv. US President Donald Trump earlier said his son-in-law Kushner and business ally Witkoff were bringing a “proposal to end the war.” Both Russia and Ukraine vowed not to strike each others’ capitals for three days during the negotiations, as Washington tries to revive US-led talks to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two.
Putin thanked Trump for “not stopping” to try to end the war — launched by Russia in 2022 — despite it being “not simple.” The Russian leader has repeatedly said Moscow intends to seize the rest of east Ukraine and Washington did not say if its proposal involves Kyiv ceding land. Putin said Russia would ensure the safety of the envoys in Kyiv — a city Moscow has pounded with deadly strikes this summer. “We will do everything that depends on us to ensure the safety of the negotiation process and mediators such as yourselves,” Putin told Witkoff and Kushner.
– Limited truce –
Putin was speaking a day after Kyiv said Moscow had struck the headquarters of its SBU security service in the centre of the city. Ukraine also said Russian strikes had killed seven people across the country on Saturday — including two in the Kyiv region. Both Moscow and Kyiv have said they will halt strikes on each other’s cities to allow for negotiations. “The Russian president, the commander-in-chief, has given the order from midnight not to strike Kyiv for three days,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky — who had offered a truce during the US visits — later said he had spoken to the US envoys and also promised Kyiv would not strike Moscow. “From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow,” Zelensky said on social media. On Saturday, Putin said he had “noted that the Ukrainian side significantly reduced” its strikes on Russia and Moscow. Putin also said he had been informed that the two US envoys would be heading to Kyiv — their first time for talks in the Ukrainian capital. “In any case, of course, no matter what happens next, contacts of this kind are undoubtedly always beneficial,” he added.
Zelensky has said he expects the US envoys in Kyiv Sunday. US efforts have so far not led to a breakthrough in the war — which has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. As peace efforts stalled, in part because of Washington’s war with Iran, Moscow and Kyiv stepped up their long-range attacks.
– Russian strikes –
Earlier Saturday, Russia struck Kyiv’s suburbs and the Dnipro region, where local officials said five people had been killed. Another two people were killed in the Bucha district outside Kyiv, said the head of the Kyiv region, Tymur Tkachenko. Zelensky accused Moscow of trying to disrupt the visit of the US envoys with overnight attacks on Kyiv’s two airports — as well as on civilian targets. “Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine,” Zelensky said on X.
This will be the first time that Witkoff and Kushner visit Kyiv since Trump returned to office last year with a pledge to resolve the conflict. Travelling to Kyiv by plane would be a highly unusual move, as Ukrainian airspace has been closed since 2022 because of the war. Visiting leaders and officials have generally travelled there by train. Trump would not say whether the proposal his envoys were bringing involved Ukraine ceding territory as he has previously suggested, saying only: “We have an idea for peace.” Witkoff and Kushner, who have been involved in negotiations for ceasefires in Gaza and Iran, have travelled repeatedly to Moscow in previous attempts at diplomacy.
Just hours before Trump’s announcement on Friday, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service in central Kyiv. The strike, which Zelensky said was aimed at the office of the agency’s acting chief, was the first on its headquarters since the start of Russia’s offensive. Witkoff and Kushner’s visit comes after a rare trip to Moscow last month by CIA director John Ratcliffe.
© 2024 AFP
