Putin calls situation “not simple” at meeting with Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow

Vladimir Putin received American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow, describing the upcoming discussion as “not simple” and asking them to pass on his best wishes and words of gratitude to Donald Trump.

Opening the meeting, Putin greeted his guests with the following words:

“Dear colleagues, I warmly welcome you to Moscow. The situation we will be dealing with today is, of course, not simple,” Putin said.

Witkoff and Kushner flew to Moscow on the afternoon of September 5. Trump, announcing their visit, said his representatives would bring a proposal for ending the conflict in Ukraine. When asked whether it was a new proposal, the American leader replied: “No.” Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, for his part, urged people to wait for the meeting.

Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that the American special envoys in Moscow would likely be pushing ideas already rejected by Russia, which is why Kyiv is pessimistic about the talks.

After the talks in Moscow, Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to Kyiv for a meeting with Vladimir Zelensky. In connection with preparations for the visit, Putin ordered that no strikes be carried out on Kyiv for three days — from midnight on September 5. Zelensky stated that Ukraine would also “observe a ceasefire on air strikes against cities involved in the peace process.”

Putin has repeatedly stated Russia’s readiness to end the conflict in Ukraine by peaceful means, provided its root causes are eliminated. According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces must be fully withdrawn from the territories of the Donbas republics, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, which became part of Russia following referendums in 2022. These regions, as well as Crimea and Sevastopol, must be recognized in international treaties as part of Russia, the president has said.