Photo credit: France 24
US President Donald Trump said Friday he is sending envoys Steven Witcoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv with a plan to end more than four years of war in Ukraine.
The move marks Washington’s latest bid to break a diplomatic stalemate in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A senior official told AFP the envoys were due in Kyiv on Sunday.
US outlet Axios reported they would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, and then President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday. The Kremlin declined to comment.
Trump told reporters that the two negotiators would seek to gauge whether progress towards peace was possible.
Peace efforts have stalled due to Washington’s war with Iran, while Moscow and Kyiv have intensified long-range attacks, driving up civilian casualties to levels not seen since the start of fighting.
“I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They’ve done a great job, and we sent them to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we’ll do it,” Trump said.
The US president would not say whether the plan involved Ukraine ceding territory, as he has previously suggested, but added: “We have an idea for peace.”
