--- title: "The Kremlin Made Trump's Envoys Wait: How Witkoff and Kushner's Visit Became Putin's Pre-Election Gesture" description: "The Kremlin delayed the start of the meeting with Trump's envoys Witkoff and Kushner by several hours, forcing them to have lunch with Dmitriev. Media link the gesture to Putin's pre-election display of influence." date: 2026-09-09T12:14:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/putin-made-trumps-envoys-wait-at-the-kremlin-en tags: [putin, trump, kremlin, ukraine-war, state-duma-elections, peace-talks] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # The Kremlin Made Trump's Envoys Wait: How Witkoff and Kushner's Visit Became Putin's Pre-Election Gesture ![Vladimir Putin at his desk in the Kremlin ahead of the Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner visit](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/09/putin-zastavil-chekati-poslannikov-trampa-v-kremle/putin-zastavil-chekati-poslannikov-trampa-v-kremle-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - The visit by Witkoff and Kushner to Moscow on September 5, 2026, was accompanied by a delay in the start of the meeting at the Kremlin; the guests spent several hours having lunch with Kirill Dmitriev. - According to media reports, the delay was a deliberate gesture to demonstrate Putin's influence ahead of the State Duma elections on September 18–20. - Yuri Ushakov described the talks as lasting more than three hours, substantive, and constructive; the U.S. pledged to take Putin's position into account in contacts with Ukraine. On September 5, 2026, the first working meeting between U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and the Russian leadership took place in Moscow. According to media reports, the visit, timed to coincide with the resumption of the peace process under U.S. mediation, was marred by an unusual procedure: the start of the negotiations at the Kremlin was delayed, leaving the representatives of Donald Trump's administration to spend several hours at lunch with Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev at one of Moscow's expensive restaurants. ### Timeline of the negotiations As Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov reported, the conversation itself lasted more than three hours and was "substantive and constructive." The American side, which, according to Axios, included, in addition to Witkoff and Kushner, representatives of the National Security Council, the State Department, and the Treasury Department, presented a number of considerations on possible paths to ending the war. In response, representatives of the Trump administration pledged to take into account the positions voiced by Vladimir Putin in further contacts with Ukraine. ### The delay as a political gesture According to sources citing the circumstances of the visit, Putin decided to use the arrival of the American guests for his own political ends. The delay in starting the meeting at the Kremlin, according to this version, was calculated to demonstrate domestic strength on the eve of the elections to the State Duma, scheduled for September 18–20, 2026. Thus, a formally working visit was transformed into a public political signal aimed at the domestic audience. ### Content of the negotiations: the parties' positions According to statements made after the meeting, the key item of discussion was the conditions for ending the conflict unleashed by Russia. In particular, media reports noted that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in comments following the contacts, emphasized the need to "forget about NATO" in the context of security. The Russian side, according to a number of publications, "carried away" through the American intermediaries its position on Ukraine, which now has to be agreed with Kyiv. ### Contradictory data The accounts of participants and observers diverge on the nature of the delay. According to Ukrainian and foreign media (including RBC-Ukraine), postponing the start of the meeting was a deliberate Kremlin gesture to demonstrate influence. At the same time, official Russian comments, including the words of Yuri Ushakov, focus exclusively on the substantive and constructive nature of the conversation, without confirming the claim that the guests were deliberately "kept waiting." Thus, the motive of a political demarche remains a press interpretation rather than an officially recorded fact. ### Context: elections and the peace process The visit of the American envoys coincided with the election campaign in Russia, which, in the view of observers, explains the Kremlin's heightened sensitivity to any public scenes involving foreign guests. In parallel, under U.S. mediation, the process of resuming peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia continues, the aim of which is to end the war. The outcome of the Moscow round and Kyiv's reaction to the position "carried away" by Moscow will determine the further dynamics of the diplomatic track. ## πŸ” Fact-Check Verification - [Putin made Trump's envoys wait for several hours: media reveal details of the Moscow meeting](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/putin-zmusiv-poslantsiv-trampa-chekati-kilka-1788955492.html) - ΠŸΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π°Π΅Ρ‚ Π·Π°Π΄Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠΊΡƒ Π½Π°Ρ‡Π°Π»Π° встрСчи ΠΈ ΠΎΠ±Π΅Π΄ с Π”ΠΌΠΈΡ‚Ρ€ΠΈΠ΅Π²Ρ‹ΠΌ Π² московском рСсторанС. - [Witkoff and Kushner head to Putin: can we expect a breakthrough from the talks - Bloomberg](https://glavred.info/world/uitkoff-i-kushner-edut-k-putinu-zhdat-li-proryva-ot-peregovorov-bloomberg-10794161.html) - ΠšΠΎΠ½Ρ‚Π΅ΠΊΡΡ‚ Π²ΠΈΠ·ΠΈΡ‚Π° ΠΈ ΠΎΠΆΠΈΠ΄Π°Π½ΠΈΠΉ ΠΎΡ‚ ΠΏΠ΅Ρ€Π΅Π³ΠΎΠ²ΠΎΡ€ΠΎΠ² ΠΏΠΎ Π»ΠΈΠ½ΠΈΠΈ Bloomberg. - ["Forget about NATO": Lavrov reveals what Witkoff and Kushner discussed with Putin](https://ulysmedia.kz/news/80333-zabudte-pro-nato-lavrov-raskryl-o-chiom-uitkoff-i-kushner-govorili-s-putinym/) - Π‘ΠΎΠ΄Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ°Π½ΠΈΠ΅ ΠΏΠ΅Ρ€Π΅Π³ΠΎΠ²ΠΎΡ€ΠΎΠ²: Π°ΠΊΡ†Π΅Π½Ρ‚ Π›Π°Π²Ρ€ΠΎΠ²Π° Π½Π° Β«Π·Π°Π±Ρ‹Ρ‚ΡŒ ΠΏΡ€ΠΎ НАВО». - [Witkoff and Kushner "carried away" Putin's position on Ukraine from Moscow](https://exclusive.kz/uitkoff-i-kushner-uvezli-iz-moskvy-poziciju-putina-po-ukraine/) - АмСриканская сторона ΡƒΠ²Π΅Π·Π»Π° ΠΏΠΎΠ·ΠΈΡ†ΠΈΡŽ Π Π€ ΠΏΠΎ Π£ΠΊΡ€Π°ΠΈΠ½Π΅ для согласования с КиСвом. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: When did the meeting between Witkoff and Kushner and the Russian leadership take place? **A:** On September 5, 2026, in Moscow. According to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the conversation lasted more than three hours and was substantive and constructive. ### Q: Why were the American envoys delayed in Moscow? **A:** According to media reports, the start of the meeting at the Kremlin was postponed, and the guests spent several hours at lunch with Kirill Dmitriev. The Kremlin did not officially confirm that the delay was a deliberate political gesture. ### Q: Which elections in Russia coincided with the visit? **A:** The elections to the State Duma, scheduled for September 18–20, 2026. It is precisely this pre-election context, according to press reports, that explains the demonstrative nature of the delay.