US President Donald Trump's key negotiators - special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner - maintain almost daily contact with high-ranking representatives of Russia and Ukraine. The two are fully prepared to travel to Moscow and Kiev, but only on condition that there are real, new topics for discussion, and not just for media presence, a joint investigation by The New York Times reveals.
A business approach to diplomacy
Witkoff and Kushner, who have a serious background in the real estate sector, apply an unconventional approach to classical diplomacy, defining themselves as “dealmakers“. According to White House sources, the two are holding a number of private meetings with representatives of the two warring parties, who are deliberately keeping themselves out of the public eye.
The main requirement of the American side for the renewal of the shuttles on the ground is that the negotiations should not turn into "photo shoots", but should be based on revised and working agreements.
The balance between Ukraine and Iran
Over the past year, Washington's diplomatic capacity has been put to the test, as Witkoff and Kushner have been engaged in managing the escalation around Iran in the Middle East. This temporarily slowed down the pace of the trilateral US-Ukraine-Russia format, whose last official face-to-face meeting took place in Switzerland in February of this year.
However, the Kremlin and Kiev continue to view this communication channel as key. Moscow openly insists on a more structured process and expects the return of American emissaries, seeing in Witkoff a direct link with Trump to achieve its strategic goals, including Ukraine's refusal to join NATO. For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already announced that his country is ready to receive the American delegation at any time, as long as a format is proposed that respects Ukraine's sovereignty.
At the moment, specific dates for visits to Russia and Ukraine have not been officially scheduled, but daily dialogue continues at an accelerated pace in the background.
Source: The New York Times, UNN, RBC-Ukraine