Witkoff: US is confident in a ‘good resolution’ to trilateral Ukraine war talks

Special envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday said the U.S. is confident that trilateral talks will result in a “good resolution” to the Ukraine war after he and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with officials in Kyiv.

Sunday marked Witkoff and Kushner’s first time traveling to Kyiv to negotiate an end to Russia’s yearslong war in Ukraine, CNN reported . The special envoy said during a press conference that their talks were “substantive,” and that he was “confident that there’ll be a good resolution here.” The pair had met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow the day prior.

After their talks with Ukrainian officials, Witkoff told reporters that both Ukraine and Russia still “need to make some compromises,” but “we think we have the ingredients to get to that place,” The New York Times reported .

During a Sunday press conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the “territorial issue remains a relevant one,” pushing for resolving “complex issues … at the level of leaders.”

“But the main thing is that today we have the opportunity to discuss everything –– security guarantees, Ukraine’s future, and the prosperity plan,” Zelensky added in his remarks, translated to English and posted to his social media . “We are talking not only about security guarantees, but also about economic guarantees for Ukraine – to recover and rebuild.

The post continues, “We all understand the challenges that lie ahead once the war ends, and we are discussing them among ourselves.”

Zelensky called for Europe’s leaders to join “the third part of our negotiations,” saying he and the U.S. envoys “agreed that Ukraine, Europe and the United States will meet in the near future.”

Witkoff and Kushner met with Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials after meeting with Putin, seeking to resume stalled trilateral negotiations for a war nearing its five-year mark. The Trump administration’s efforts to help Ukraine reach a peace deal slowed after the US entered its own military conflict with Iran in February.

“One thing Steve and I really thought would be productive is to go back to the trilateral format, which we were able to do about six months ago,” Kushner said during the press conference.

The White House told The Guardian that Witkoff and Kushner had “discussed substantive plans for next steps” with Putin to end the war, with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov adding that the envoys “outlined a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement.”

Zelensky told reporters the talks focused on air defense and the creation of a “package” to support Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the winter season. He added that the U.S. plans to increase Patriot interceptor missile production next year amid an escalation of Russian strikes in Ukrainian airspace.

Russia has deployed fast-flying jet-powered drones against Ukraine, with Zelensky calling the attacks deliberate “terror” against his people. The Ukrainian president last week warned airlines and other aviators flying through Russian airspace that his country planned to retaliate with its own aerial attacks

Ukraine and Russia agreed to pause the fighting as the envoys visited their respective capital cities, but both sides exchanged fire and intercepted the opposing army’s drones overnight Sunday. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported one death and at least 10 wounded during separate drone attacks.