Reuters Provided A Behind-the-scenes Look At Putin's Three-hour Talks With Trump's Envoys
- 6.09.2026, 11:27
The U.S. has outlined several options for a possible settlement.
More than three hours of talks between the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and special representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump—Steve Whitcoff and Jared Kushner—ended without any signs of a breakthrough. Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov stated that the Americans had outlined several options for a possible settlement, but did not disclose their details, according to Reuters.
In response, the Russian leader insisted that the Russian military is allegedly making “real progress” on the front lines, and that Moscow is confident it will achieve its goals. He stated that eliminating “all root causes of the conflict” was a prerequisite for any agreements.
A White House spokesperson described the meeting as substantive and promised to announce further steps in the coming weeks. Whitcoff and Kushner, who arrived in the Russian capital for the first time since January, did not comment—they flew out immediately after the talks concluded and are scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday.
According to the Kremlin, the agenda was not limited to the war.
“The talks went beyond a simple exchange of views on resolving the Ukrainian crisis. Economic issues and potential large-scale, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects were discussed in considerable detail. Overall, it can be said that the talks were timely and extremely useful for both sides,” Ushakov stated.
Putin’s envoy on investment matters, Kirill Dmitriev, who was present at the meeting, called the Americans’ visit an important peace-building mission.
Putin praised Trump’s efforts
The Russian president used the public portion of the talks to pay compliments to the White House host.
“While he understands that he is facing a difficult situation, he nevertheless continues his efforts to help achieve a settlement and contribute to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” Putin said in a televised address at the start of the meeting.
Behind the scenes of diplomacy, things looked quite different: for the previous ten days, the Russian army had been shelling Kyiv with missiles and drones day and night, and on Friday it struck the SBU headquarters. Throughout the summer, Ukraine had been striking Russian oil refineries, oil terminals, and warehouses belonging to the online retailer Wildberries, raising the cost for Moscow of continuing the war, according to media reports. During the special envoys’ visit to Moscow and Kyiv, the Ukrainian side was prepared to refrain from striking the Russian capital.
A Huge Gap in Positions
As the war enters its fifth year, the sides have diametrically opposed visions of how it will end. A source close to the Kremlin previously stated that Putin’s territorial ambitions have not gone away.
“There is no chance of reaching an agreement on the front lines until Putin has completed his consolidation of the rest of the Donetsk region,” the source emphasized, adding that the Kremlin leader is confident, based on reports from his commanders, that this will happen before the end of the year.
Western military analysts consider such a scenario unlikely, given the slow pace of Russian troop advances. Kyiv refuses to cede the territory it has defended at the cost of enormous losses and views such conditions as tantamount to surrender.
The Kremlin has emphasized that the demand Putin made two years ago—to transfer to Russia the entire territory of the four regions it claims and to abandon the course toward NATO—remains “unwavering.”