OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
12:47 PM – Tuesday, December 2, 2025
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials at the Kremlin on Tuesday, in the latest White House bid to persuade Moscow to end its ongoing invasion of Ukraine — just hours after Putin declared Russia would be “ready right away” to fight Europe if attacked.
The meeting started at around 11:30 a.m. ET.
Witkoff, 68, was joined by Kushner, 44, and a Russian-speaking interpreter for the Kremlin talks — a duo that had, only two days earlier, wrapped up intensive negotiations in South Florida with senior Ukrainian and American officials — finalizing revisions to the peace framework now under discussion with Moscow.
Kushner, who lacks a formal government title but still serves as an informal adviser, was selected for his proven track record in complex international deal-making. The rationale for Kushner’s inclusion traces back to his central role in the Gaza ceasefire, where he and Witkoff navigated entrenched rivalries to secure an agreed-upon truce, albeit fragile.
Trump, speaking at the Knesset in October, explicitly pledged to deploy the duo to Ukraine, calling them the best negotiators for delivering durable, enforceable peace.
On Tuesday, the 73-year-old Russian president hosted the meeting alongside Kremlin senior diplomat and foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund. After a pre-meeting meal, Dmitriev joined Witkoff and Kushner for a business walk through central Moscow, prompting Witkoff to remark that it was a “beautiful walk” in a “magnificent city” — while easing into the formal discussions.
Earlier Tuesday, while speaking at an investment forum, Putin accused Europe of unfairly siding with Ukraine and blocking the entire peace process. He further claimed that the whole continent was advancing “demands that are absolutely unacceptable to Russia” while reiterating that Moscow had no intention of attacking any other European nations.
“But if Europe suddenly wants to wage a war with us and starts it, we are ready right away,” Putin declared. “There can be no doubt about that.”
Meanwhile, in Dublin, Ireland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continued his whirlwind “European tour,” holding talks with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin just one day after his Paris meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron disclosed on Monday that the two leaders had also held a pre-summit phone call with Witkoff to coordinate ahead of the Moscow discussions.
“They want to report right after that meeting to us, specifically,” Zelensky said alongside Martin. “The future and the next steps depend on these signals. Such steps will change throughout today, even hour by hour, I believe.”
“If the signals show fair play with our partners, we then might meet very soon, meet with the American delegation,” he continued. “There is a lot of dialogue, but we need results. Our people are dying every day,” Zelensky added. “I am ready … to meet with President Trump. It all depends on today’s talks.”
Zelensky also said he had met with the Ukrainian delegation returning from Florida on Tuesday, stating that the parties had “finalized” a 19-point peace plan originally drafted in Vienna last month. The revised framework, trimmed from an earlier 28-point version, no longer includes U.S. recognition of Russian control over certain Ukrainian territories and leaves territorial issues for direct talks between Trump and Zelensky, the New York Post reported.
“Ukraine must know exactly when the war ends, then there will be security guarantees for the entire territory of Ukraine so that the invasion does not start again,” Zelensky said. “This is the main thing and there can be no other interpretations, it is connected precisely with this.”
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also took part in Sunday’s Florida discussions, told reporters that “much work remains” to end the ongoing conflict. Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow shortly after the Kremlin announced its forces had captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub.
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