Witkoff, Kushner meet with Putin to discuss Ukraine war

Sun, September 6, 2026 at 2:54 AM UTC

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U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner discussed "substantive plans for next steps" on a path toward ending the war against Ukraine during discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit on Saturday, a White House official told ABC News.

The official said that the plans would be "announced in the coming weeks" and said the U.S. looks forward to "equally productive meetings" with Ukraine on Sunday.

The official said that Kushner and Witkoff were joined by officials from the National Security Council, State Department and Treasury Department during the discussions on "proposals to bring peace to this conflict."

Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Pool via Reuters - PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with U.S. special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow

The American officials also thanked Putin for releasing former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman from Russian custody last month, the official said.

The visit in Moscow lasted about three hours, the Kremlin said in an earlier statement.

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Kremlin aid Yuri Ushakov described the discussion as "substantive, constructive, exceptionally candid, and conducted in a spirit of trust," in a statement after the talks ended.

"The Russian side provided clear and comprehensive assessments of the situation developing during the special military operation," he said.

Heading into the meeting, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian officials indicated that Witkoff and Kushner were coming with a ceasefire proposal once again from Ukraine.

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Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP - PHOTO: Russia US

It's unclear if the new proposal substantially differs from what has previously been offered. Putin has recently signaled his demands for territory in Ukraine remain unchanged, which remain unacceptable for Kyiv.

Witkoff and Kushner are scheduled to hold talks with Ukrainian officials Sunday.

Mikhail Metzel, Pool via AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: RUSSIA-US-UKRAINE-DIPLOMACY-CONFLICT

The statement from the Kremlin aide about Saturday's talks stated: "Our president confirmed his intention to continue working jointly with the Americans to seek political and diplomatic solutions. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner promised to use, during tomorrow's contacts in Kyiv, the observations and assessments they had received personally from the President of Russia concerning the path toward a lasting peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine."

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not target Moscow with drones and missiles during the U.S. envoys' visit this weekend and has urged Russia to reciprocate when Witkoff and Kushner are due to travel to Kyiv.

Before the meeting Putin expressed his "best wishes and words of gratitude to the President of the United States, Mr. Trump," according to video posted by the Kremlin.

Video Witkoff and Kushner land in Moscow for potential Ukraine-Russia peace talks

Putin described the "difficult" situation that he and the U.S. envoys would have to address during the negotiations.

Following the meeting Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president's special representative for investment and economic cooperation, posted what appeared to be farewell photos on social media showing himself alongside Witkoff and Kushner in front of a U.S. government plane, with the caption: "important peacemaking visit."

ABC News' Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.

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