Kremlin confirms US envoy's visit to Moscow for Ukraine peace next week

MOSCOW -- The Kremlin confirmed on Wednesday that a US delegation, including US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and other key officials, will visit Moscow next week to discuss a possible peace plan for Ukraine.

"As for Witkoff, I can say that a preliminary agreement has been reached that he will come to Moscow next week," Yuri Ushakov, Russian presidential aide, told Russian state television's top Kremlin reporter, Pavel Zarubin.

Besides Witkoff, "a number of other administration representatives who are involved in Ukrainian affairs" will also come to Moscow, he said.

Trump said Tuesday he has directed Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in the hope of finalizing a peace deal on the Ukraine crisis.

Trump said he looks forward to hopefully meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky soon, but only when the peace deal is final or in its final stages.

The US-proposed 28-point peace plan was unveiled last week.

Following its release, representatives from the United States, Ukraine and several European countries met in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the plan.

On Monday and Tuesday, US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll held talks with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on the draft plan, according to a statement from the US Army.