US envoys Witkoff and Kushner hold Kyiv talks with Ukraine

September 7, 2026 at 08:58 AM2 min

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US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Ukrainian officials in Kyiv on Sunday, September 6. The talks covered security guarantees and territorial issues after the war ends. The visit followed a three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on September 5.

Key Facts

The Kyiv talks were held at the Mariinskyi Palace on September 6, 2026.
Ukrainian participants included President Volodymyr Zelensky, Chief of Staff Kyrylo Budanov, Foreign Intelligence Service head Rustem Umerov, and Servant of the People faction leader David Arakhamia.
National security advisers from the UK, France, and Germany joined the second stage of the negotiations.
Witkoff said the Moscow meeting on September 5 produced new ideas for resolving the military conflict.
Zelensky stated that the main unresolved issue is territorial.

Kyiv Negotiations

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian officials at the Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv on Sunday, September 6. This was the first visit to Ukraine for Witkoff and Kushner, who had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow the previous day. The Ukrainian side included President Volodymyr Zelensky, Chief of Staff Kyrylo Budanov, Foreign Intelligence Service head Rustem Umerov, and Servant of the People faction leader David Arakhamia. National security advisers from the UK, France, and Germany joined the second stage of the talks.

Statements and Positions

Steve Witkoff described the conversation as very substantive and important, saying the US delegation was 'very inspired' by the results. Jared Kushner conveyed greetings from President Donald Trump and said the US seeks to ensure long-term peace for Ukraine. Kushner added that Trump had instructed the preparation of a peace package for Ukraine. Zelensky said the parties discussed security and economic guarantees for Ukraine after the end of hostilities, with the territorial issue remaining the main unresolved question. The parties acknowledged that the war will likely continue until winter, and Zelensky expressed hope for support from American and European partners if it does.

Moscow Meeting

On Saturday, Witkoff and Kushner held talks with Putin that lasted almost three hours. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov called the meeting substantive, constructive, and frank. Ushakov said the Russian side gave 'clear and comprehensive assessments' of the battlefield situation and stressed the need to eliminate all root causes of the conflict. The US representatives formulated a number of considerations on possible ways to resolve the conflict and promised to use Moscow's observations and assessments in the Kyiv talks.