Ukraine has proposed observing a ceasefire with Russia while US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visit Moscow and Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday.
"There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire -- without its own airstrikes -- for the duration needed to conduct these talks," Zelenskyy said in his evening address.
Zelenskyy's remarks came after a US official told The Associated Press on Friday that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Moscow and then Kyiv over the weekend and into early next week.
The official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, did not have more specific timing for the stops.
This would be their first visit to Kyiv. US efforts to negotiate a settlement have yet to produce a path to peace.
Zelenskyy said Friday that he expected Witkoff and Kushner to visit Kyiv on Sunday, after first visiting Moscow. He said in a Telegram post that Ukraine would refrain from airstrikes during the negotiations and called on Russia to reciprocate with a period of calm to allow the talks to proceed safely.
“As with previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely. We are concerned about their safety, not about Russia,” he said.
Russian state news agency Tass reported on Friday that Witkoff and Kushner would visit Moscow first, then Kyiv on Saturday and Sunday, though this could not be independently verified.
Speaking with journalists on Friday, presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to confirm reports that Kushner and Witkoff would visit Moscow, saying only that the media would be informed if such a meeting took place.
Kushner and Witkoff last visited Moscow in January, where they met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After that meeting, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov described the talks as constructive, but said that “reaching a long-term settlement can’t be expected without solving the territorial issue.”
However, further talks have lost momentum, with the White House's attention focused on its conflict with Iran.
(With inputs from AFP and AP)
