Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to meet Kiev’s representatives on Friday and might travel to Moscow later this month
Published 9 Oct, 2026 00:46
| Updated 9 Oct, 2026 01:38
FILE PHOTO: US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner © Danylo Antoniuk / Anadolu via Getty Images
US President Donald Trump’s top negotiators are preparing to pitch “new ideas and proposals” aimed at breaking the deadlock in the Ukraine conflict, with talks involving representatives of Kiev and its European backers scheduled to begin in Miami on Friday, according to Reuters and Axios.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to hold a two-day working session with the Ukrainian delegation in an effort to develop a unified proposal that could later be presented to Moscow.
The pair could then travel to the Russian capital later this month for another round of talks with President Vladimir Putin, Axios reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions.
According to Reuters, the ideas were developed during and after Witkoff and Kushner’s diplomatic tour of Moscow and Kiev in early September. The pair have since remained in contact with both Russian and Ukrainian officials while working on an updated peace initiative.
One proposal reportedly under consideration is a partial ceasefire covering attacks on energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping. The talks are also expected to address possible security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-conflict economic plan and other elements of a potential settlement.
Witkoff and Kushner met Trump on Thursday to present the latest proposals and receive his input ahead of the Miami talks, according to Axios. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Deputy National Security Adviser Mike Needham also attended the meeting.
Kiev’s European backers ‘nervous’ about winter
Kiev will reportedly be represented by Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff, Kirill Budanov, intelligence chief Rustem Umerov, diplomatic adviser Sergey Kislitsa and top lawmaker David Arakhamia.
National security advisers from Britain, France and Germany, as well as representatives of NATO and the EU, have also reportedly been invited.
A US source told AFP that European governments have privately complained about soaring energy prices and other economic costs stemming from the conflict, adding that there is growing concern about another winter of hostilities.
“They are all nervous about the winter. It will be a tough winter if the war does not stop,” the source said.
Trump has also repeatedly pressed Zelensky to stop “hurting the world” and halt Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, arguing that the attacks are worsening a global diesel shortage and driving up fuel costs in the US.
Kremlin agrees with Rubio on ‘stalemate’
The new diplomatic push comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the conflict as a “dangerous stalemate,” warning that further escalation could spill beyond Ukraine and trigger a broader confrontation.
“This war needs to end in a negotiated settlement. The sooner, the better,” Rubio told reporters in Lisbon on Thursday, while cautioning that Washington would not invest indefinitely in “pointless processes” that produce no progress.
The Kremlin said it shared Rubio’s assessment of the current diplomatic impasse, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying he “agreed” that no clear prospect of a negotiated settlement was currently visible.
He nevertheless reiterated Moscow’s position that Russia remains open to negotiations, while accusing Kiev of showing no willingness to accept reality and pursue a long-term settlement.
Despite the lack of progress on Ukraine, contacts between Washington and Moscow have continued on other tracks, Peskov added, noting that the two countries are discussing “a whole range” of potentially mutually beneficial economic projects, including possible cooperation in the energy sector.
