Envoys of U.S. President Donald Trump, Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will visit Kyiv on Sunday, September 6, following another trip to Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
"It has already been clearly established today that the American envoys will be in Ukraine in the coming days and will also be in Russia. The details come from the U.S. President’s team. We discussed today that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow and then visit Kyiv on Sunday," Zelenskyy said on Telegram on Friday.
According to him, Ukraine is preparing for this visit and will ensure the security of Russian airspace during the visit of Trump’s special envoys to Russia. The President of Ukraine also said he expects Russia to cease its attacks on Ukraine during Witkoff and Kushner’s visit to Kyiv.
"We are preparing for this visit. We held a meeting with our broader diplomatic team – specifically those who work with the United States. And just as we did during previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely. We are looking out for them, not for Russia. There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire – without its own airstrikes – for the duration necessary to conduct these talks and resolve the logistical issues related to this U.S. visit," Zelenskyy said.
He said the Ukrainian side’s goal is "a visit and negotiations with the American side that are as constructive and substantive as possible." "We need to look for realistic options for bringing this war to an end. We’ll see what proposals Steve and Jared have, and what Moscow has to say about them," the President of Ukraine said.
Earlier, a number of media outlets reported on Witkoff and Kushner’s visit to Russia and Ukraine this coming weekend, citing their own sources.
As reported, in early May, Zelenskyy said that Witkoff and Kushner’s visit to Kyiv was expected at the turn of spring and summer, and on July 22, he held talks with Trump’s special envoys, discussing, in particular, "how to intensify diplomacy and bring peace closer," and earlier this month he noted that the Ukrainian side was expecting their visit, given that they had previously stated their intention to come to Ukraine to assess the situation on the ground.
On August 24, it was reported that Kushner and Witkoff had postponed their trip to Ukraine, allegedly due to recent Russian shelling of the Ukrainian capital.
On September 3, Zelenskyy announced that Trump’s representatives are scheduled to hold meetings in Moscow and Kyiv, and preliminary dates for these meetings have been set. "We expect to see the U.S. president’s representatives here in Kyiv. We have confirmation from them: there will be meetings in Moscow and Kyiv. We expect the meeting to take place in the coming days," he said.
