Moscow/Kyiv, September 06 (H.S.): Russian President Vladimir Putin held more than three hours of talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday as Washington renewed efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The discussions marked a fresh push by US President Donald Trump’s administration to revive stalled diplomatic efforts after months of intensified fighting. The two sides also agreed to temporarily refrain from striking each other’s capitals during the US envoys’ diplomatic mission.

Putin welcomed Witkoff and Kushner at the Kremlin and acknowledged that the situation surrounding the Ukraine conflict remained difficult. The Russian president also conveyed his best wishes to Trump and expressed Moscow’s willingness to continue working with the United States to resolve the conflict.

The US delegation arrived in Moscow with proposals aimed at finding a possible pathway towards ending the war. However, no major breakthrough was announced following the talks. Russian officials described the discussions as useful and substantive, while significant differences between Moscow and Kyiv remain unresolved.

As part of arrangements surrounding the talks, Russia agreed not to launch strikes on Kyiv for three days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said Ukraine would refrain from attacking Moscow during the same period.

The temporary pause came amid a sharp escalation in aerial attacks in recent weeks, with both Russia and Ukraine carrying out long-range drone and missile strikes. The intensified fighting has caused civilian casualties and disrupted daily life in and around Kyiv.

The diplomatic effort followed a particularly intense period of Russian attacks on Ukraine. On Friday, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service in central Kyiv, injuring several people. Ukrainian officials said the attack came shortly before the planned arrival of the US delegation.

Zelenskyy accused Moscow of attempting to disrupt the diplomatic process through the latest attacks and said Ukraine remained prepared to facilitate the visit by the American envoys.

Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to Kyiv on Sunday for discussions with Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials. The visit would mark Kushner’s first reported trip to Ukraine as part of the current US diplomatic initiative, while Witkoff has previously held several rounds of discussions with Russian officials.

The renewed peace effort comes as the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, continues to take a heavy toll on civilians. Russian and Ukrainian forces have intensified long-range attacks even as diplomatic channels remain open.

Trump has said that Witkoff and Kushner were being sent to determine whether meaningful progress towards a peace agreement was possible. The US administration has not publicly disclosed the full details of its latest proposal.

Major obstacles remain, however. Moscow continues to press for territorial concessions and other security-related demands, while Kyiv has rejected surrendering Ukrainian territory. The conflicting positions have repeatedly complicated previous rounds of negotiations.

The latest Moscow meeting therefore represents an important diplomatic opening, but officials and analysts remain cautious about the prospects of an immediate settlement. The planned talks in Kyiv on Sunday are expected to provide the next indication of whether the renewed US-led initiative can translate into substantive progress towards ending the war.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar