U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkov, who are leading efforts to reach a peace agreement in Ukraine, will travel to Russia and Ukraine on Saturday and Sunday, according to the Russian news agency TASS, citing a source.
Whitcomb and Kushner’s last visit to Moscow was in January, during which they held four-hour talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
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Meanwhile, a source familiar with the matter stated that talks regarding a visit by the two negotiators to Ukraine are ongoing, and September 6 has been mentioned as a possible date.
If the information is confirmed, this will be the first visit by the two American negotiators to Ukraine.
“The Russians do not want (Witkov and Kushner) to visit Kyiv and are trying to force them to change their plans,” the source commented.
Meanwhile, a huge gap remains between Russia and Ukraine regarding how to end this four-and-a-half-year conflict, which is the bloodiest to have erupted in Europe since World War II.
Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine cede more territory to Russia, a demand that Kyiv categorically rejects.
The most recent talks between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the U.S., took place in February, shortly before the U.S. and Israel launched an attack against Iran.
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