Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin at the Kremlin as the US asks Russia for a European security proposal

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks with President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, seeking to advance a push for a peace deal in Ukraine^1,2,5. The United States has asked Russia to submit a new proposal for a future security agreement with Europe that includes Russian steps to ease tension with the continent, two sources with knowledge of the matter said⁹.

Witkoff is making his tenth visit to Russia since Trump’s return to the White House, and the envoys are seeking Putin’s blessing to bring Europe into the Ukraine process⁶. After meeting Putin, they will fly to Dublin to meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky^3,8. Zelensky sees an opportunity in the talks¹. The Kremlin meeting is the latest round of US efforts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine^2,4.

The Moscow meeting follows two days of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on ending the war, and the envoys are there to discuss the results of those US-mediated talks^4,5,7.

Why it matters to investors

For years Russia has sought a European security deal that limits NATO expansion and scales back military deployments in Eastern Europe⁹. The United States has rejected those demands in the past but now appears open to them in some form, as part of a broader agreement to end the war⁹.

Many European governments are deeply suspicious of the administration’s approach⁹. That division matters because the envoys are trying to bring Europe into the talks while asking Moscow to define the terms of a new security order^6,9.

Fighting has continued alongside the diplomacy. Russia said it launched a massive overnight strike on Ukrainian military factories¹⁰.

What to watch

The content of any Russian proposal on European security is the key item, since it would show how far Moscow wants to go on limiting NATO and how much Washington is prepared to accept⁹. European reaction will follow quickly given the suspicion already voiced⁹.

The Dublin meeting with Zelensky is the next step after the Kremlin talks^3,8. It will show whether Ukraine sees the Moscow round as the opportunity it has described¹. The envoys’ push to involve Europe will depend on whether Putin gives the blessing they are seeking⁶.