In early September 2026, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in law, made separate visits to Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to re-invigorate peace talks.

Diplomatic efforts have faltered since early 2026, after talks scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates were postponed amid the onset of military action between the US and Israel and Iran.

Ahead of this latest round of bilateral talks, President Trump said that Special Envoy Witkoff and Mr Kushner were “bringing with them a proposal to end the war”.  However, President Trump provided no further detail. It remains unclear whether the US presented any new proposals or whether discussions focused on existing measures that formed the basis of talks in late 2025/ early 2026.  

Speaking after both sets of talks, Jared Kushner said the US sees its task as “creating a peace package”, in consultation with European partners, that will provide a “framework that will help resolve this issue”. National Security Advisers from France, the UK and Germany attended part of the talks in Kyiv.

What did the latest round of talks achieve?

While peace efforts have been renewed, the September talks are regarded by several commentators, including within the Russian media, as having achieved little progress toward peace.

Following the meeting in Moscow on 5 September, Presidential Aide, Yury Ushakov, said the talks had been an opportunity to “continue the dialogue on resolving the crisis in Ukraine” and to discuss “other pressing issues” with the United States. He said that they were “substantive, constructive, exceptionally frank, and conducted in an atmosphere of trust”. However, he gave no indication that Russia was prepared to compromise on its previous demands for peace, including territorial concessions by Ukraine. Specifically, Mr Ushakov highlighted the “significant advances” made by Russian military forces in Ukraine and expressed “confidence” that the objectives of the special military operation would be achieved. He also reiterated the longstanding Russian argument that the “root causes of the conflict” needed to be addressed. Russia has consistently argued that its special military operation in Ukraine is in response to the provocative actions of NATO and that its aim is to protect the rights of the Russian-speaking population and “de-militarise and de-nazify” Ukraine.

In a press conference after subsequent talks with the US in Kyiv on 6 September, President Zelenskyy welcomed efforts to restart peace negotiations. However, he said that the issue of territory “remains a relevant one” and that “such complex issues can only be resolved at the level of leaders”.

The US delegation said that discussions were “meaningful” and that they had left the talks “encouraged”.

Where next?

Despite intensifying aerial strikes by both sides, and expectations that Russia will escalate its attacks over the coming winter, there is hope that further talks are on the agenda.

Trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates between US, Ukrainian and Russian officials have been proposed and accepted in principle. Talks are expected to take place in October 2026, although a date has yet to be agreed. It is also unclear what level of seniority attending officials will have, particularly on the Russian side.  

However, unless there is a strategic breakthrough by either side on the battlefield, or there is a shift in either country’s red lines over territory and future security guarantees, then it is considered unlikely that further rounds of official-level talks will achieve much.  

President Zelenskyy’s offer to meet President Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the United States in December 2026 has reportedly been rejected by the Kremlin. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called such talks “impossible” and said they could only be held in Moscow. 

Further reading

The outcomes of previous rounds of peace talks are examined in the following Commons Library briefings:

Broader analysis on the progress of the conflict is also available from:

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