Moscow, Updated 02:00 AM Dec 03, 2025 IST — U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday to present an early-stage peace proposal Washington hopes could help end the four-year war in Ukraine.
The meeting took place as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was in Ireland, part of a series of visits to European countries that have backed Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion.
After months with little progress toward halting the fighting, President Donald Trump has dispatched envoys to promote his peace ideas. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, attended the Moscow meeting alongside Witkoff, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov added the talks would last “as long as needed” and said the U.S. delegation consisted of Witkoff, Kushner and an interpreter. The effort runs alongside separate engagements: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met with Ukrainian officials while Witkoff held talks in Moscow.
Putin said Russia did not seek war with European powers but insisted Moscow would be ready to fight if Europe pursued a direct confrontation. He accused European countries of undermining U.S.-led attempts to resolve the conflict by proposing terms Russia finds unacceptable.
In Dublin, Zelenskiy, accompanied by his wife Olena Zelenska, met Ireland’s President Catherine Connolly as part of his campaign to secure continued political and material support from European allies.
