Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner Meet With Putin In Moscow

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Saturday, as part of a weekend journey that will take them to Kyiv on Sunday in an effort to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Witkoff and Kushner met with Putin for more than three hours behind closed doors, The Associated Press reported, and concluded without any breakthroughs.

The AP said Putin’s foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, called the talks constructive, frank and useful.

“Today, Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with President Vladimir Putin of Russia to advance President Trump’s agenda of peace in the Russia-Ukraine War. They were joined by officials from the National Security Council, State Department, and Treasury Department to discuss proposals to bring peace to this conflict,” a White House official said after Saturday’s talks. “The American delegation also thanked President Putin for releasing former United States Marine Robert Gilman from Russian custody out of respect for President Trump.

“The two sides discussed substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks, and look forward to equally productive meetings tomorrow in Ukraine.”

On Friday, Trump addressed Saturday’s anticipated visit with reporters.

“We have an idea for peace. I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators,” he said. “They’ve done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we’ll do it.”

Kushner and Witkoff visited Russia first on Saturday, and were greeted by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev shortly after landing in Moscow.

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Putin to Witkoff & Kushner: "You enjoy our full trust. It’s been quite convenient to work with you."

Witkoff to Putin: "When we retire we’ll have all these incredible stories & memories and yours will be right at the top of it all."

The day the US envoys came to town. Our… pic.twitter.com/KSmgmVVZz8

— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) September 5, 2026

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CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned Russian officials in Moscow this week not to escalate conflict with America’s NATO allies, in particular Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in response to Moscow’s stalemated invasion of Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. spy chief also used the rare, unannounced trip to the Russian capital on Tuesday to press Russia to reduce military and economic support for Iran, according to one of those two people and a U.K. official with knowledge of the trip.

News of Ratcliffe’s trip to Russia, which the administration did not officially acknowledge until this morning, had sparked rampant speculation in Washington and Europe because it marked the first such known trip to the Russian capital by a CIA director under President Donald Trump. In late 2021, then-President Joe Biden’s spy chief, Bill Burns, warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against invading Ukraine. Russian forces stormed across the border three months later.

Ratcliffe’s visit comes as Russia and Ukraine have exchanged an intensifying series of drone and missile strikes miles beyond the front lines of the fighting. Russia has also issued a series of threats in recent weeks against NATO countries that support Ukraine, sparking fear that Moscow could pursue newly aggressive hybrid warfare measures or limited military action against NATO allies, including the U.K.

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