Jared Kushner and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff are heading to Moscow on Monday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin following a lengthy meeting with Ukrainian officials Sunday, according to a U.S. official familiar with the plans.
Witkoff, Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the U.S. delegation in a meeting with Ukrainian delegates in Florida to discuss a possible peace plan between the two warring nations.
The meeting with Putin was set for Tuesday, according to the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
The president’s son-in-law and the special envoy – who also played key roles in crafting a deal to halt fighting between Israel and Hamas – spent hours in South Florida hammering out details surrounding Trump’s 28-point peace plan for Russia and Ukraine.
Trump told reporters he spoke with Rubio after the meeting.
“Ukraine’s got some difficult little problems,” the president said. “We have some difficult problems, but I think Russia would like to see it end. And I think Ukraine, I know Ukraine would like to see it end.”
Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s national security and defense council secretary and head of the country’s delegation, called the meeting “productive and successful.”
In a statement following the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the need to put a “clear focus on ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty and national interests,” adding that he is “grateful to the United States, to President Trump’s team, and to the President personally for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war.”
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, was notably absent from the talks after he resigned Friday amid corruption allegations. Yermak pushed against aspects of Trump’s peace plan for the region, which greatly favored Russia and would force Ukraine to make major concessions, including ceding territory and forgoing NATO membership.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
Akayla Gardner is a White House correspondent for MS NOW.