United States envoys arrive in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin

United States envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday morning for peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Al Jazeera, RTÉ, The Guardian, and Reuters. Al Jazeera reported that Kirill Dmitriev, special envoy to President Putin, met the diplomats at their plane and accompanied them to central Moscow. The visit follows two days of trilateral peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which ended on Wednesday. [1][2][3][8]

The talks in Abu Dhabi ended without a major breakthrough on stopping the war, as reported by Al Jazeera and CNN, though negotiators announced another planned major prisoner exchange. RTÉ and Euronews noted that the upcoming meeting in the Kremlin marks the tenth time Steve Witkoff has met Vladimir Putin in person. Euronews reported that the United States is seeking approval from the Russian president to bring European representatives into the Ukraine peace negotiations. [1][2][4][5]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, the diplomats plan to conduct separate meetings with Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Following their talks in Moscow, Jared Kushner stated that he and Steve Witkoff will fly to Dublin, Ireland, to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the Daily Mail. Meanwhile, France's Europe minister Benjamin Haddad stated that the European Union plans to approve new sanctions on Russia on Monday, The Guardian reported. [3][7][16][17]

The ongoing negotiations follow past diplomatic efforts in the Russo-Ukrainian war, which began with Russia's invasion in February 2022. During previous negotiations, Vladimir Putin sought recognition of occupied lands, NATO exclusion for Ukraine, and the lifting of sanctions, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded a complete withdrawal of Russian forces, a full ceasefire, and the return of prisoners. [13]