Trump envoys Witkoff, Kushner may visit Russia, Ukraine as Moscow peace talks remain stalled

US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could travel to Russia and Ukraine this weekend as Washington continues efforts to revive negotiations aimed at ending the war, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

TASS reported that the two US representatives would visit both countries on Saturday and Sunday, although it did not disclose the source of its information. The Kremlin declined to confirm the reported itinerary.

“I wouldn’t make any announcements right now, but we will inform you when these contacts take place,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the report.

Witkoff and Kushner last travelled to Moscow in January, when they held roughly four hours of late-night discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. Neither envoy has previously visited Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Trump’s representatives were expected in both Moscow and Kyiv in the coming days. A source familiar with the arrangements told Reuters that discussions over the Ukraine leg were still under way, with Sunday being considered as a possible date.

Reuters cited a source as saying that Russia was opposed to a visit by the US envoys to Kyiv and was seeking to persuade Washington to alter the plan.

Any fresh diplomatic push faces substantial obstacles, with Moscow and Kyiv still sharply divided over the conditions for ending the conflict, now in its fourth-and-a-half year.

Peskov reiterated that Putin’s demands remain unchanged. These include Ukraine surrendering the entirety of four regions claimed by Russia and abandoning its ambition to join NATO. Moscow considers those conditions non-negotiable.

Kyiv, however, has rejected giving up territory it has defended at significant cost, viewing Moscow’s demands as equivalent to surrender.

Putin said on Thursday that an agreement to end the war remained possible. At the same time, he criticised Kyiv’s warning to foreign airlines against using Russian airspace, saying it amounted to a threat that could complicate diplomatic efforts.

The most recent US-mediated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place in February, shortly before the United States and Israel launched military action against Iran.

Peskov said a peace agreement could not be ruled out eventually, but maintained that the conditions needed for a settlement were currently absent. “The work continues, and the contacts continue,” he said.

With input from agencies