Kushner and Witkoff heading to Moscow this weekend for meeting with Putin, followed by Ukraine visit

Special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will be meeting at the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin on their way to Ukraine for meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky this weekend, President Donald Trump confirmed Friday. 

“I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators,” Trump 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 of that,” according to the Washington Examiner.  

“It’s a personality problem in Russia-Ukraine,” Trump added. “You have President Zelensky and President Putin. They truly hate each other. You know what hate is? They have serious hate, and it’s getting in the way of them.”

While Witkoff and Kushner visited Moscow and spoke with Putin and other officials in January of this year, this will be their first trip to Kyiv in Trump’s second term as president. The meeting is expected to find out if there is any possible movement toward a negotiated settlement to end this four-and-a-half year war. 

CIA Director John Ratcliffe was in Moscow meeting with his Russian counterpart less than two weeks ago. While the purpose of Ratcliffe’s meetings has not been fully disclosed, reports have suggested that it was to warn Russia against an invasion or attack on any NATO countries, to urge them to not aid Iran during the current conflict, and to press for peace with Ukraine.