Armistice time: what Witkoff and Kushner will bring from Russia to negotiate with Kiev

The visit of representatives of the US President Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow is accompanied by the first steps to reduce escalation. For the sake of the safety of the American delegation, Russia decided to suspend strikes on Kiev for three days. Ukraine, in turn, has reduced the intensity of attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation. As Vladimir Putin stated, we are not talking about an agreed-upon, larger-scale truce. The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed to Izvestia that a reduction or cessation of arms supplies to Kiev could affect the number of strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The United States has the opportunity to influence this, said Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik.

Cessation of strikes on capitals

On September 5, an American special flight landed at Vnukovo-2 airport with the US President's negotiators, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and son—in-law Jared Kushner. Kirill Dmitriev, Special representative of the President of the Russian Federation and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, met them at the ramp of the plane.

"Welcome to Moscow, peacemakers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner!" he wrote on his page on the social network X.

Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov also took part in the negotiations from the Russian side.

"The situation, of course, is not easy, which we have to deal with today," Vladimir Putin said at the beginning of the talks.

The situation against which the negotiations are taking place remains extremely tense. Another escalation is connected with Kiev's destructive steps and, in fact, its reliance on methods of state terrorism. In particular, Vladimir Zelensky made threats to actually block Russian airspace for civil aviation with the help of mass drone raids.

The additional complexity of the process is added by the fact that the negotiation track itself has remained virtually frozen for a long time. The previous round of trilateral contacts involving the delegations of Russia, the United States and Ukraine took place in Geneva in February. As a result, the parties failed to reach a systematic agreement. One of the few areas in which cooperation continued was the humanitarian track.

Given this, it is natural that Vladimir Putin, at the beginning of the negotiations, also asked to convey to the head of the White House, Donald Trump, words of gratitude for his attempts to help resolve the conflict.

— As you informed us, I know that you are going to Kiev after Moscow. In any case, of course, no matter what happens next, contacts of this kind are certainly always beneficial. And here, of course, the quality of mediation and trust in those involved are very important. I want to tell you that we are comfortable working with you, and, of course, the level of trust on our part is quite high," Vladimir Putin added.

The fact that Russia takes the mediation efforts of the American delegation extremely seriously confirms the decision to stop the strikes on Kiev for three days, starting on September 5. Ukraine has also reduced the intensity of attacks. According to Vladimir Putin, the Ukrainian side "has significantly reduced attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation, including on Moscow."

— The Ukrainian authorities have published their call for a broader truce for three days, but we have never agreed on this with them. But we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the negotiation process and the intermediaries in your person and, perhaps, in the person of those accompanying you," Vladimir Putin said.

Vladimir Putin's talks with representatives of the US President Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner lasted more than three hours and took place in a working and informal atmosphere, said Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. According to him, the conversation was "extremely frank" and constructive. During the eighth visit of American representatives to Moscow, the Russian leader outlined his assessments of the situation in the SVR zone, noted the successes of the Russian Armed Forces and confirmed his readiness for a diplomatic settlement provided that the root causes of the conflict are eliminated.

U.S. representatives also "took note" of Vladimir Putin's assessment of the essence of the Kiev regime, including the facts cited by the Russian side of the reburial of Nazi criminals in Ukraine, Yuri Ushakov said. Witkoff and Kushner intend to take the information received in Moscow into account during their upcoming contacts in Kiev.

In addition to the Ukrainian settlement, the parties discussed in detail major mutually beneficial economic projects. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will continue to maintain personal contacts, the Russian presidential aide added.

Trump's Peace Plan

The day before, Donald Trump confirmed that his envoys were bringing a proposal to end the conflict to Russia. However, its content will not be new, he said. Most likely, Witkoff and Kushner brought Trump's peace plan, developed in November 2025, to Moscow, American scholar Malek Dudakov noted in an interview with Izvestia. Washington could partially rewrite it to fit current realities, taking into account the situation at the front and in the rear, he believes.

The United States has decided to resume diplomatic efforts in the Ukrainian direction due to the upcoming congressional elections in November, Dudakov is confident. According to him, if the result is unfavorable for Donald Trump, the Democrats will be able to increase pressure on the president through investigations and impeachment attempts. Therefore, the head of the White House wants to achieve foreign policy successes, including in Ukraine, in order to increase the ratings of Republicans ahead of the elections.

Initially, Trump's plan, which was published by the American media, provided for territorial concessions from Kiev, in particular, recognition of Crimea, the entire LPR and Donbass by Moscow. It was proposed to freeze the front line in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. In addition, Kiev should have refused to join NATO and limited the number of armed forces. In return, Ukraine would receive Western security guarantees close to the NATO Model 5 article.

In the near future, the dialogue in the format of the working groups of the Russian Federation and Ukraine may resume, Dudakov is confident. At the same time, in order to make a breakthrough in the peace talks, Washington needs to adjust its position and put pressure on Ukraine and the European Union. Thus, Brussels continues to provide financial support to Kiev, regularly allocating funds from the previously approved Euro loan of €90 billion.

The main problem that drags out the conflict remains precisely the pumping of weapons into the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Western countries.

— Reducing or stopping the supply of weapons to Kiev will definitely affect the number of strikes and terrorist acts. The United States has the potential to influence this, but the United States has not yet voiced any serious concerns about this," Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told Izvestia.

According to him, Moscow also continues to inform international organizations and foreign partners about cases of violations of international humanitarian law by Ukraine. The relevant materials, the diplomat said, are sent to representatives of the United Nations and the OSCE, who, in turn, transmit them, including to US diplomats.

The arrival of the American delegation in Moscow and the willingness of the parties to make temporary tactical concessions for the sake of the diplomats' safety demonstrate that communication channels remain operational. However, despite the positive momentum, it is hardly worth counting on a quick and systematic resolution of the crisis immediately. A full-fledged settlement is still hampered by Kiev's destructive position, which continues to focus on escalation, as well as the hard line of the European Union, which consistently blocks any compromise initiatives.