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| Steve Witkoff |
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner said on Sunday that Washington sees meaningful progress toward a diplomatic end to the Russia–Ukraine war and is working to revive trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States. Speaking after meetings in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the pair described their Moscow talks with Vladimir Putin as “substantive” and expressed optimism that a next-step format could be announced soon.
Trilateral Format Back on the Table
The envoys indicated that the immediate goal is to re-establish a structured negotiation track that brings all three parties into the same room. Witkoff said the US team had carried ideas discussed with Putin in Moscow to Kyiv for further consideration, suggesting that both capitals had engaged with concrete proposals over the past 48 hours. He emphasized that narrowing differences would require compromises from both sides but added that Washington believed it now had “the ingredients” to move toward that outcome.
Kushner underlined that President Donald Trump had tasked him and Witkoff with developing a broader “peace package” aimed not only at halting fighting but at laying down conditions for a durable settlement. In his view, returning to a formal trilateral diplomatic channel is a key objective and a possible bridge to a long-term agreement.kyivpost+1
Kyiv Meeting: “Substantive” Talks, Next Steps Under Discussion
In Kyiv, Zelenskyy called the discussions with the US delegation “very substantial,” while Witkoff described the talks as “meaningful” and said he was “very encouraged” by the tone and content. Zelenskyy added that Ukraine, the US and European partners had agreed to hold another meeting soon, though the location—Europe, the US or Ukraine—remained undecided.jpost+2
According to Zelenskyy, the most difficult unresolved issue continues to be territory, and he argued that questions of that scale can only be settled at the leaders’ level. He also cautioned that he did not expect the war to end before winter, warning that hostilities were likely to continue through the colder months. On security assistance, he said the US planned to increase Patriot missile production next year and that Ukraine expected to receive additional systems.
Moscow Talks: Long Session, No Breakthrough Announced
The Kyiv visit followed a more than three-hour meeting in Moscow between the US envoys and Putin, which Kremlin officials described as “highly useful” but did not characterize as producing an immediate breakthrough. Still, US officials told reporters that the Moscow session yielded “substantive plans for next steps,” even as open-source reporting noted few visible signs that peace was significantly closer.
Witkoff stressed that Washington had been treated respectfully by Putin and his team, and he highlighted the importance of keeping communication lines open with both sides. “We came to see President Putin first. We needed to hear where he stood,” he said, adding that the US had briefed Zelenskyy on the content of those conversations.
What Could Come Next
The envoys framed their role as facilitators: bringing parties together, narrowing gaps and establishing reliable channels for continued dialogue. Witkoff said a trilateral meeting could be the next step and that such an event would be announced soon if progress holds. Kushner echoed that returning to a trilateral format was “productive” and expressed hope that an announcement would follow “very soon.”
While the US side projected cautious optimism, other reporting noted that expectations had been low heading into the trip and that previous envoy visits had not secured deals. Even so, the repeated emphasis on “substantive” talks, a defined peace package and an imminent trilateral format suggests Washington is attempting to reset the negotiation architecture after months of stalled talks and escalating strikes along the front.
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| Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner |
Who they are
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are two of President Donald Trump’s closest private-sector allies who have been appointed as special envoys to lead high-level diplomacy on the Russia–Ukraine war. Both are New York–based real-estate developers with long personal ties to Trump, and both have been shuttling between Moscow and Kyiv in 2025–2026 to try to broker a peace deal.latimes+3
Steve Witkoff
Background: Steven Charles Witkoff (born 1957, Bronx, New York) trained as a lawyer before moving into real estate, co-founding Stellar Management in 1985 and later founding the Witkoff Group in 1997, which acquires and manages high-profile properties.
Trump connection: He has been a longtime friend and business associate of Trump and was part of Trump-aligned economic revival groups during the pandemic.
Diplomatic role: Since 2025 he has served as a US special envoy—first reported for the Middle East and subsequently for broader peace missions—and has become a key figure in US-backed Ukraine negotiations, traveling to Moscow multiple times and meeting Vladimir Putin on several occasions. In 2026 he is described in US and international reporting as Trump’s special envoy on Ukraine peace.
Jared Kushner
Background: Jared Kushner is a real-estate developer and investor who previously served as a senior White House adviser during Trump’s first term, focusing on Middle East policy and other portfolios.
Trump connection: He is Trump’s son-in-law (married to Ivanka Trump) and remains one of the president’s most trusted confidants.
Diplomatic role: In the current Trump administration he has been named a special envoy alongside Witkoff, tasked with developing a “peace package” for Ukraine and conducting shuttle diplomacy with Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Like Witkoff, he has visited Moscow several times in this capacity; the September 2026 Kyiv trip was his first visit to Ukraine as a US negotiator.
Why they matter in this story
Together, Witkoff and Kushner represent Trump’s preference for using close, non-traditional diplomats to drive major foreign-policy initiatives. Their repeated meetings with Putin, combined with their first joint visit to Kyiv in September 2026, signal Washington’s attempt to reset the negotiation architecture and push for a trilateral Russia–Ukraine–US format.