US envoy sees ‘movement’ toward more talks with Russia, Ukraine

The United States special envoy for peace, Steve Witkoff, expressed optimism about recent discussions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart. The envoys traveled to Moscow and Kiev over the weekend, marking their first joint appearance in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. According to Witkoff, the weekend talks in Moscow and Kyiv have yielded progress, including movement towards scheduling additional trilateral peace talks involving the United States, Russia, and Ukraine. These talks aim to bring an end to Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Witkoff, a business associate of former President Donald Trump, discussed the developments on the social media platform X, confirming that the discussions were substantive. He highlighted the arrival of new and more effective proposals from both sides to end the war. However, Ukrainian President Zelensky cautioned that the fighting may persist into the winter months.

The Kremlin in Russia, while not explicitly ruling out the possibility of three-way talks, has not been forthcoming with details. Prior to the weekend discussions, the last meeting between negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv took place in Geneva in February, but that session did not produce an agreement on territorial matters. Diplomatic efforts led by Washington have slowed in recent months as the Trump administration redirected its focus towards the ongoing conflict with Iran.

The United Nations estimates that the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, has resulted in at least 15,000 civilian deaths, though the actual toll is likely to be significantly higher.