Moscow, Updated At : 02:00 AM Dec 03, 2025 IST
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, presenting an early-stage peace proposal Washington hopes could help end the four-year war in Ukraine.
The visit by Witkoff came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy traveled to Ireland, part of a series of trips to European nations that have supported Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion.
After months without progress on halting the fighting, US President Donald Trump has dispatched envoys to advance his peace ideas. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, attended the Moscow meeting alongside Witkoff, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He added the talks would last “as long as needed” and that the US delegation consisted of Witkoff, Kushner and an interpreter. The effort runs alongside separate engagements: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met with Ukrainian officials while Witkoff holds talks in Moscow.
Putin said Tuesday that Russia did not seek war with European powers but asserted Moscow would be prepared to fight if Europe sought a direct confrontation. He accused European countries of obstructing US-led attempts to end the conflict by proposing terms Moscow finds unacceptable.
In Dublin, Zelenskiy, accompanied by his wife Olena Zelenska, met Ireland’s President Catherine Connolly as part of his outreach to gain continued political and material backing from European allies.
