Kushner, Witkoff Arrive in Moscow for Talks Over Ukraine War
Jared Kushner said a prisoner exchange agreed between Russia and Ukraine would 'build trust, and create momentum toward peace.'
U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the Ukraine conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev met Kushner and Witkoff at Vnukovo International Airport, on the outskirts of Moscow, and escorted them to the Kremlin. Thursday’s meeting is the 10th between Witkoff and Putin.
“We were able to do a good exchange of ideas—some areas we see places where we can find compromises, others we need to have more discussions,” Kushner said of the talks, which were the first direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since February.
Kushner welcomed the prisoner exchange in a Nov. 11 post on X.
“Today we achieved an important humanitarian breakthrough, with Ukraine and Russia agreeing in principle to what will be the largest prisoner exchange of the war,” Kushner wrote. “This will reunite families, build trust, and create momentum toward peace.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Denmark on Nov. 10 that negotiators were considering an exchange involving 1,000 or 1,500 people from each side.
Ahead of the Abu Dhabi negotiations, U.S., Ukrainian, and European representatives met on Tuesday to coordinate their positions on ending the war and establishing security guarantees for Ukraine.
A joint U.S.–Ukrainian–European statement said that participants emphasized that any future arrangements must respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, independent decision-making, and provide Ukraine with credible security guarantees.
After Russian troops invaded Ukraine in 2022, Putin repeatedly demanded Kyiv accept Russian territorial claims over Crimea and the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
At the time, he said Putin had demanded that Ukraine surrender some territories that Russia had failed to occupy or capture.
Ukrainian forces continue to hold territory in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, which Russia claims.
Announcing the deal, Trump said more than 300,000 tons of diesel would be shipped immediately, with another 500,000 tons expected in November, followed by a million tons “immediately thereafter.”
At the time, Zelenskyy expressed his disappointment with Trump’s decision to agree to the Russian oil deal.
