Moscow, Russia - US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Thursday ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war in Ukraine.
Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow after mediating talks in Abu Dhabi between Russia and Ukraine aimed at making progress on ending Europe's worst conflict since WWII.
Following the meeting with Putin, both envoys will fly to Dublin to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is meeting with European leaders.
An AFP journalist saw the pair's motorcade arrive at the Kremlin shortly after 1:00PM local time. Kushner said the meeting with Putin would "go over what was discussed" during two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, and to seek progress "because we see some openings and some opportunities."
Arriving in Ireland late Wednesday, Zelensky also said there could be a "window of opportunity" to end the war with Russia before 2027.
"What's important is that the Americans flew to Putin with specifics. I would very much like them to return to Dublin with specifics," he said, adding that while he was still skeptical "there is hope."
EU officials say there appears to have been little genuine progress towards peace and are adamant that Europe sees no need to discuss its broader security arrangement with Moscow before fighting stops.
Following the Abu Dhabi talks, the warring sides agreed to a major prisoner exchange – the "biggest" ever, according to Kushner. Zelensky said it could involve 1000 or 1200 captured soldiers from each side.
Both sides have said that talks will continue, but Russia has questioned the inclusion of Europe.
"We don't really understand what there is to talk about with them. We have not received a single peace initiative, not one concrete proposal from the European countries," Russia's delegation chief Vladimir Medinsky told reporters after the Abu Dhabi talks.