Trump: Wittkower and Kushner Carry 'End the War' Plan Between Russia and Ukraine

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he would send envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Wittkower to Moscow and Kyiv, carrying a plan to end the war in Ukraine that has lasted for four years.

This will be the first time that Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, and his business associate friend Wittkower visit Kyiv, a city ravaged by war, since Trump returned to office last year vowing to resolve the conflict.

U.S. envoys previously visited Moscow, leading to accusations against them of bias toward Russia in negotiations, according to AFP.

Trump said Wittkower and Kushner would first go to Moscow to meet Russian officials before moving on to Kyiv, marking their first joint visit to the Ukrainian capital since the start of Trump administration efforts to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv.

When asked about the trip, Trump told reporters they were carrying a "proposal to end the war." He did not disclose whether the plan included Ukraine ceding territory, as he had previously hinted, but added: "We have an idea to achieve peace."

He continued: "I sent Steve Wittkower and Jared Kushner, both outstanding negotiators. They’ve done great work, and we sent them to explore whether we could accomplish something; there’s a high likelihood we’ll succeed."

Trump attributed the war between Russia and Ukraine, which erupted in February 2022, to a "personal issue" between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky earlier stated he had proposed a ceasefire with Russia coinciding with the U.S. envoys’ visits to both Moscow and Kyiv.

In his evening address, Zelensky said: "There will be no airstrikes from our side, and Russia must ensure a ceasefire—without launching airstrikes of its own—for the duration necessary to conduct these talks."

A report from the U.S. news site Axios indicated that Kushner and Wittkower would travel on Friday, meet Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday, and then meet Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.

Wittkower and Kushner are expected to hold talks in Moscow with Russian President Putin before heading to Kyiv to meet Zelensky.

Wittkower has made several visits and communications with the Russian side during U.S. mediation efforts, but those initiatives have not yet led to a decisive breakthrough.

In Moscow, Putin said on Thursday he sees potential for reaching an agreement to end the war, but accused Ukraine of launching attacks on commercial ships and criticized its warnings about the dangers of civilian aviation in Russian airspace, arguing such developments complicate the resumption of peace talks.