Moscow Does Not Expect a Breakthrough from Talks with Witkoff and Kushner, According to Bloomberg
U.S. President’s Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to arrive in Moscow on Saturday, September 5, to present proposals for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. At the same time, the Kremlin is pessimistic about the prospects for the visit and the possibility of reaching an agreement.
According to sources interviewed by the publication, expectations for the American delegation’s visit are extremely low.
Sources claim that Witkoff and Kushner’s previous visits to Russia did not yield any noticeable progress, so Moscow sees no reason to expect a breakthrough this time.
According to Bloomberg, Vladimir Putin is willing to end the war only on Russia’s terms. At the same time, Russian demands are becoming tougher, as the Kremlin believes that Russia holds a military advantage.
U.S. President Donald Trump, responding to a question about the trip by the American representatives, stated that they should arrive in Russia with a concrete proposal.
“They will bring a proposal to end the war,” Trump said, without revealing details of a possible plan.
After the talks in Moscow, Witkoff and Kushner are scheduled to travel to Kyiv, where they plan to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, September 6.
Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv aims to make the upcoming visit “as constructive and substantive as possible.”
“We need to look for realistic options on how to end this war,” said the Ukrainian president.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine will not carry out airstrikes during the period required for the U.S. delegation’s visit and expects Russia to reciprocate.
However, on the night of September 5, Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine, notably using ballistic missiles and attack drones.
This comes despite Kyiv’s call for a mutual ceasefire while the U.S. representatives are in the country.
The upcoming visit by Witkoff and Kushner to Ukraine will be the first trip by these officials since the start of the full-scale war, Bloomberg notes.
In Kyiv, this move is seen as an opportunity to resume diplomatic efforts to reach a peace agreement after the U.S.-mediated negotiation process effectively reached an impasse in February.
At the same time, it is currently unknown whether the U.S. representatives have any new proposals capable of breaking the deadlock in the negotiations.
According to the publication, Putin has shown no willingness to drop his demand that the remainder of the Donetsk region be handed over to Russia. Kyiv has repeatedly rejected this condition.
Representatives of the White House, as well as the teams of Kushner and Witkoff, did not provide immediate comments regarding the upcoming trip.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also did not answer journalists’ questions. Earlier, he refused to officially confirm the visit, stating:
“We will let you know when these meetings take place.”
According to Bloomberg, Witkoff and Kushner last visited Moscow in January, where they held talks with Putin. At that time, they discussed a 20-point plan to end the war, which has been ongoing for five years.
Bloomberg reports this, citing sources close to the Kremlin.
This morning, Russian troops attacked Zaporizhzhia with strike drones. The attack sparked fires in various parts of the city and caused damage to civilian infrastructure.
On Wednesday, a Russian attack destroyed a warehouse containing Philips-branded household goods and caused significant damage to the warehouse infrastructure of the company’s logistics partner in Ukraine.
On the night of September 5, Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine, using “Iskander-M/KN-23” ballistic missiles and 167 strike drones.
Russian occupiers attacked the “Epicenter” shopping center in Mykolaiv several times. Two people were injured as a result of the strikes, and fires broke out at the impact sites.
In Kyiv, Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine had proposed to Russia—the aggressor state—that it temporarily suspend airstrikes during negotiations related to possible visits by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
In the U.S., President Donald Trump stated that Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are traveling abroad to try to reach a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia—the aggressor state.
