The intrigue: This is Witkoff's sixth meeting with Putin in Russia but the first in-person meeting between Putin and Trump's team since the Alaska summit in August. It's also the first time Kushner has joined the talks with Putin. Witkoff and Kushner are expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday in Europe and brief him on the talks with Putin, according to two sources with knowledge. The U.S. envoys were expected to present Putin with the revised U.S. peace plan, which was whittled from 28 points down to 19 during talks with the Ukrainians.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian negotiators have met US officials in Florida to thrash out details of Washington's proposed framework to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Diplomats focused on revisions to a proposed 28-point plan developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow. That plan has been criticised as being too weighted toward Russian demands. Meanwhile, EU ministers are meeting in Brussels for talks on foreign and defence issues,
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Monday that "the list of necessary steps to end the war can become doable" after progress was made in Sunday's talks between U.S. and Ukrainian delegates in Geneva. He said he planned to discuss "sensitive" outstanding issues with President Donald Trump. Rustem Umerov, a senior adviser to Zelensky, wrote on social platform X on Tuesday that the Ukrainian leader hoped to finalize a deal with Trump "at the earliest suitable date in November."