US President Donald Trump's two envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, left Kiev after yesterday's talks with Volodymyr Zelensky. A double round of phone calls between Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian president is expected shortly, as some American media reported.
Meanwhile, following Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks yesterday ("German accusations over Leipzig are the beginning of a real war"), the Kremlin has decided to close the German consulate in St. Petersburg. This is a response to "Berlin's hostile actions" involving the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House.
"Substantial progress has been made, including the initiation of efforts to schedule further trilateral talks. President Trump is fully committed to stopping the killing and working toward a lasting and stable peace," US envoy Steve Witkoff wrote on X, explaining that "at President Trump's direction, US negotiators traveled to both Moscow and Kiev to facilitate further dialogue aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. Prior to the trip, the Russians and Ukrainians agreed to a three-day suspension of hostilities to allow these talks to take place."
Along with Jared Kushner and officials from the National Security Council, the State Department, and the Treasury Department, Witkoff met with both Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky to discuss the other's proposals with each side. In Kiev, the delegations were also joined by the national security advisers of the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, to work together on next steps.
According to the Elysée Palace, US negotiators reported Russia's "renewed willingness to negotiate" during their talks with European representatives yesterday in Kiev. This openness is intended to follow the elections for the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, scheduled for September 18-20. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov himself described it as a "small step toward peace," and did not rule out the possibility of resuming trilateral talks between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine, although "it is too early to discuss the location and timing." While convinced that Putin is counting on another harsh winter to weaken Ukraine, Zelensky added that the Russian president "needs Trump" and does not want to antagonize the US president ahead of the midterm elections.
