Moscow [Russia] / Kiev [Ukraine], November 13: US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were received by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, Russian media reported, in the latest round of shuttle diplomacy over the war in Ukraine.
Witkoff, a special envoy for US President Donald Trump, and Trump's son-in-law Kushner are expected to brief Putin on the two days of trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US in Abu Dhabi this week. It is Witkoff's fourth visit to see Putin this year.
According to Russian media reports from the Kremlin, Putin said he wanted to hear the envoys' assessment of the negotiations. Russia's TASS news agency said Witkoff praised the upcoming prisoner exchange agreed upon in Abu Dhabi by the warring parties.
One of the goals of the meeting in Moscow "is to try and see if we can get Europeans added to the format so we can make this a multi-lateral format," Kushner said before departing for Moscow.
"Today, we will discuss issues aimed at settling the crisis surrounding Ukraine," Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by TASS before the meeting.
Kushner said that he and Witkoff plan to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Irish capital Dublin on Thursday after leaving Moscow.
Leaders from almost 50 countries are meeting in Ireland for a summit of the European Political Community (EPC), with the Ukraine war high on the agenda.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange during the US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, but did not announce any concrete steps towards ending the war.
Overnight, Russia carried out fresh airstrikes on Ukraine. The capital Kiev was again attacked with ballistic missiles.
Source: Qatar Tribune
