Trump Confirms US Envoys Witkoff, Kushner Visit to Moscow and Kyiv to Discuss Peace Plan

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) confirmed that his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Moscow and Kyiv as part of Washington's diplomatic efforts to advance a peace proposal aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said that he had dispatched Witkoff and Kushner to determine whether progress could be made toward a settlement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"So I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the two great negotiators. They've done a great job. And we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done, and there may be a good chance that we'll do it," Trump said.

Responding to a question about whether the proposed peace plan could require Ukraine to cede territory, Trump dismissed the idea on the territorial issue, saying his administration would present "an idea for peace".

"We'll have an idea for peace," Trump said, while arguing that the Russia-Ukraine conflict had become particularly difficult because of the relationship between the two leaders.
"It's a personality problem in Russia-Ukraine. You have President Zelenskyy and President Putin; they truly hate each other," Trump said.

"They have serious hate, and it's getting in the way of them," he added.

The US President also pointed to the continuing military casualties in the conflict, saying the scale of losses made a settlement increasingly urgent.

"They're losing on average 25,000 soldiers a month. It's got to get settled," he said.

Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy said that Witkoff and Kushner would travel to Russia and Ukraine in the coming days and were expected to visit Moscow first and then Kyiv on Sunday. 
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian authorities were preparing for the American delegation.

"Today, it has been clearly established that U.S. envoys will be in Ukraine and Russia in the coming days," Zelenskyy said in his post.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would facilitate the safe movement of the US negotiators during their visit, including by ensuring the normal functioning of Russian airspace for the purpose of the delegation's travel.

"We are looking out for them, not for Russia," he said.

Zelenskyy also called for reciprocal restraint from Moscow during the talks, saying there should be no air strikes from either side for the time required to conduct the meetings and handle related logistical arrangements.

"There will be no air strikes from our side, and Russia must do the same, ensuring there are no air strikes from its side for the time needed to hold these talks and handle the logistical matters related to this American visit," the post read.

The Ukrainian President said Kyiv's objective was to make the discussions with the US delegation as "constructive and substantive as possible" and to identify practical options for ending the war.

"Our goal is to make the visit and the talks with the U.S. side as constructive and substantive as possible. We need to look for real options for how to move this war toward an end," he added.

The planned diplomatic visits come as Washington seeks to push the two sides toward negotiations, with Trump repeatedly presenting an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a major foreign policy priority.

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