Steve Witkoff
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US envoys Witkoff and Kushner make first Kyiv visit; Zelensky says 'Russians ready to negotiate'
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Moscow on September 5 for a three-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin and then to Kyiv on September 6 for the first in-person US-mediated talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky since the start of Trump's second term. Three rounds of negotiations took place on Sofiyska Square, joined in the second round by national security advisors from France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Zelensky described the talks as 'substantive' and said the envoys conveyed that 'the Russians are ready to negotiate,' but warned the war is likely to continue into winter. Witkoff reported 'substantial progress' on planning trilateral talks; the Kremlin did not rule out a return to the trilateral format but avoided claims of a breakthrough.