FILE - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, and Steve Witkoff, special envoy of the United States, meet at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo)
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were due in Moscow on Sept. 5 and Kiev the following day as Washington launched a new effort to revive negotiations over the war in Ukraine.
U.S. media reported that the pair would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that they would then travel to Kiev on Sept. 6, while the Kremlin had yet to confirm the reported meeting with Putin.
“They are bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters, without providing details.
The trip will mark Witkoff and Kushner’s first visit to Kiev, although they have traveled to Moscow several times during previous diplomatic efforts.
Zelensky said Ukraine would suspend air attacks during the envoys’ visit and called on Moscow to reciprocate.
“There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were still “no concrete prerequisites” for a settlement but added that the possibility of achieving peace “cannot be ruled out.”
The two sides remain divided over territory and security guarantees. Moscow has demanded recognition of its claim over Crimea and the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, as well as a commitment that Ukraine will not join NATO.
Kiev has called for a ceasefire along the current front line before further negotiations and refuses to recognize Russian sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian territory.
The diplomatic push comes amid intensified attacks by both sides.
A Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service in central Kiev on Sept. 4, wounding 12 people.
Zelensky said the drone had been deliberately directed at the office of acting SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad, who was not injured. He later said Ukraine had identified targets for a response but did not provide details.
Black Sea trade under pressure
The escalation has also disrupted grain shipments through the Black Sea, increasing freight and insurance costs for import-dependent countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Egypt obtained more than 82 percent of its wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine during the first half of 2026, according to an Al Jazeera analysis citing S&P Global Commodity Insights. The delivered price of wheat in the eastern Mediterranean reached a record $301 per ton in late August.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye had prepared a plan for the safe passage of grain and was in contact with Russia and Ukraine.
Ankara is seeking an arrangement similar to the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by Türkiye and the United Nations in 2022.
The deal enabled the export of nearly 33 million tons of Ukrainian grain before Russia withdrew in 2023.
