Media: Trump envoys ready to travel to Moscow as Ukraine peace talks heat up

US President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are reportedly prepared to travel to Russia as part of ongoing efforts to advance a potential peace deal in Ukraine. Following high-level discussions in Berlin with European and Ukrainian officials, the US continues to push for security guarantees and a framework that could resolve key points of contention between Moscow and Kyiv.

Trump described an end to the war in Ukraine as “closer than ever,” following intensified diplomatic efforts by US officials aimed at advancing peace talks. American officials indicated that strengthened security guarantees for Kyiv had moved negotiations forward, though they emphasized that the US offer would not remain indefinitely on the table, CNN reports.

“I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever, and we’ll see what we can do,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The remarks came after two days of discussions in Berlin involving European, Ukrainian, and US officials. Representing the president were foreign envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Trump also phoned into a dinner of European leaders to discuss the developing agreement and held multiple conversations with Witkoff and Kushner throughout the day.

Trump expressed confidence in persuading Moscow to accept the proposed security guarantees. US officials also said that Russia had shown openness to Ukraine joining the European Union as part of a potential peace deal.

“The Europeans expressed a lot of appreciation for President Trump’s willingness to lean into this issue and to offer such guarantees,” one official said. “Those guarantees will not be on the table forever. Those guarantees are on the table right now.”

The discussions also addressed plans for Ukraine’s reconstruction. Representatives from investment firm BlackRock met with Ukrainian officials to explore financial support, and the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a key point of contention, remains unresolved.

US officials clarified that there are no immediate plans to present the latest version of the deal to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They stressed that final issues, including questions of territorial sovereignty, would need to be resolved directly between Moscow and Kyiv.

“It will really be up to the parties to work out the final issues of sovereignty and to see if there’s a deal that can be done between them,” an official said. “The US has an obligation to discuss the issue with Moscow and with the Europeans.”

By Vafa Guliyeva