US envoy in Moscow for talks on Ukraine

MOSCOW — United States President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday for talks on a possible way to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Coinciding with Witkoff's trip, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went to Ireland, continuing his visits to European countries that have helped sustain his country's fight against Russia.

A leaked set of 28 US draft peace proposals emerged last week, worrying Ukrainian and European officials who said it bowed to Moscow's main demands on NATO, Russia's control of Ukrainian lands and restrictions on Ukraine's army.

The European powers then presented their counterproposal for peace, and at talks in Geneva, the US and Ukraine said they had developed an "updated and refined peace framework" to end the fighting.

Putin has said the discussions so far are not about a draft agreement but about a set of proposals that he said last week "could be the basis for future agreements".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Putin would meet Witkoff and Kushner at the Kremlin after 5 pm (1400 GMT).

The talks would take "as long as needed" and will involve only Witkoff, Kushner and an interpreter from the US side, he added.

So far, the talks have followed parallel lines, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sitting down with Ukrainian officials and now Witkoff heading to Moscow.

A convoy of cars believed to be transporting Witkoff and Kushner arrived in central Moscow from Vnukovo International Airport shortly after a jet previously used by Witkoff landed from Miami, Reuters reported.

Putin has said he is ready to talk peace, but that if Ukraine refuses an agreement, then Russia's forces will advance further and take more Ukrainian territory.

Key captures

The Kremlin said in a statement on Monday that Putin has been briefed on Russian forces' capture of Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk region and Volchansk in the Kharkov region.

Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, announced the capture of the two cities and also detailed the results of the offensive operations in other areas, the statement said.

The successful actions in Krasnoarmeysk will ensure the implementation of the tasks set at the beginning of the special military operation, Putin was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

"This is an important direction. All of us understand how important it is, and this will ensure the progressive implementation of all key tasks that are faced by us and were set at the beginning of the special military operation," Putin said.

Ukrainian forces were still holding the northern part of the city and had attacked Russian forces in the south, the Ukrainian military told Reuters.

Since the US draft proposals emerged late last month, European powers have been trying to bolster Ukraine against what they see as a punitive pro-Russian peace plan that could open up Russia to US investment in oil, gas and rare earths and return Moscow to the Group of Eight.

Key Russian demands include a pledge that Ukraine would never join NATO, caps on the Ukrainian army, Russian control of the whole of Donbas, recognition of Russian control of the regions of Crimea, Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and protection for Russian speakers and Russian Orthodox believers in Ukraine.

Ukraine says those would amount to capitulation and leave it prone to eventual conquest by Russia, though Washington has also floated a 10-year security guarantee for Kyiv.

Although this week's consultations could move the process forward, few details have become public. It remains unclear how envoys are going to bridge the gap between the two sides on basic differences, such as who keeps which territory. European officials say the road to peace will be long.

Agencies - Xinhua