On September 24, 2026, Kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev held closed-door talks in New York with close associates of the US President, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and was part of a series of intensive diplomatic contacts between Washington and Moscow aimed at finding ways to resolve the armed conflict in Ukraine.

Context and Agenda

According to informed CNN sources, the main topic of discussion was a possible ceasefire and the parameters of a peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine. The parties also touched upon the prospects for normalizing bilateral US-Russia relations, which are in a deep crisis. Dmitriev's visit to the US followed immediately after similar high-level consultations held in early September involving Vladimir Putin.

Diplomatic Marathon at the UN General Assembly

This round of negotiations was preceded by an important meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which also took place in New York on September 23. Experts note an unprecedented level of backchannel diplomacy. Against this backdrop, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously announced the planned resumption of direct Ukrainian-American talks in about ten days, following consultations with European allies.

Contradictory Data

While Western media and official sources focus on the substantive discussion of a peace plan for Ukraine and the restoration of economic ties, Russian state media frame these contacts purely as technical consultations on restoring communication channels. In addition, there are discrepancies in assessing the timeframe for potential agreements: some analysts believe it is a long-term strategy, while other sources claim groundwork is being laid for an urgent summit.

Consequences and Next Steps

The intensification of contacts between the Kremlin's envoys and Donald Trump's team indicates a desire by the parties to accelerate the negotiation process. However, any backroom agreements face a rigid stance from Kyiv and European partners, who insist that compromises at the expense of Ukraine's territorial integrity are unacceptable. Further developments will depend on the results of planned consultations within the Washington-Kyiv-Brussels triangle.