Witkoff and Kushner Leave the Kremlin: Talks with Putin Lasted Over Three Hours

US President's special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner concluded their talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. According to available data, the meeting on Kremlin grounds lasted more than two and a half hours, and in total — over three hours. After the conversation ended, the American representatives left the building. According to Russian media, as recorded in monitoring, the talks lasted about three hours.

Putin's Position on a Ceasefire

At the start of the meeting, the Russian leader stated that since midnight on September 5, Russia had not carried out strikes on Kyiv. At the same time, he denied the existence of any agreement with Ukraine on a broader cessation of strikes for three days. According to Putin, the Ukrainian side had called for a three-day ceasefire, but Moscow, as he emphasized, had not concluded such agreements with Kyiv. The Kremlin chief also noted that the Russian side was "comfortable working" with Witkoff and Kushner, and stated that contacts with the American representatives were beneficial, and that during the meeting he planned to discuss with them "all modalities" of settling the war against Ukraine.

Reaction of the American Envoys

Steve Witkoff, for his part, called the conversation with Putin one of the "best and memorable" moments of his life. As reported, the American representatives arrived in Russia with the aim of taking the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to a new level. Following the end of the meeting at the Kremlin, Witkoff and Kushner are expected to continue their contacts in Kyiv on September 6.

Contradictory Data

There are notable inconsistencies in the statements of the parties and in different versions of how events unfolded. First, some reports indicate that the talks at the Kremlin lasted "more than 2.5 hours," while others state that the total duration was "over three hours"; the exact timing has not been confirmed by independent observation. Second, the US, in connection with the visit of Kushner and Witkoff, called on both sides to cease mutual shelling for three days, but, according to sources, the Kremlin refused to comply with this request, and Putin, on the contrary, shifted the initiative for a three-day ceasefire onto the Ukrainian side. Third, Putin stated that there had been no strikes on Kyiv since midnight on September 5, whereas on the morning of September 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russia had attacked the "Kyiv" and "Boryspil" airports, where, according to him, Trump's envoys could have flown in. These contradictory versions require further verification.

Next Steps

According to expectations recorded in sources, on September 6 the American representatives will continue their talks in Kyiv. Thus, the visit by Witkoff and Kushner is turning into a two-stage format — first a meeting with Putin in Moscow, then contacts in the Ukrainian capital, which could become an attempt to synchronize the positions of the parties against the backdrop of ongoing disagreements over the cessation of shelling.