Putin meets Trump envoys on Ukraine talks

US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in Moscow ahead of their first official visit to Ukraine, in a trip that signals the most significant effort to resurrect peace talks between the warring neighbours so far this year.

On meeting the two men whom President Donald Trump said carried proposals to end the war, Putin described the situation in Ukraine as not easy, according to footage published by Russian state news agency TASS.

"But before we begin to address it, I would like to ask everyone to convey their best wishes and words of gratitude to US President Mr Trump," Putin said.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been in war for more than four years

Putin told US ?special representatives that contacts ?between Moscow and Washington were always beneficial, and that Russia found it convenient to work ?with them.

Witkoff said US president had sent his best wishes ?to the Russian president and thanked him for a ceasefire during the US delegation's visit.

Putin said Russia would do its utmost to ensure the safety of the mediators.

The Russian president ordered a three-day halt in Russian strikes on Kyiv for a visit to the Ukrainian capital by Trump's envoys, the Kremlin said Saturday.

"The Russian president and commander in chief... has given the order not to strike Kyiv for three days from midnight tonight," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by state news agency TASS as US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff prepared to head from Moscow to

Earlier, Trump said his son-in-law Kushner and business ally Witkoff were bringing "a proposal to end the war".

"I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we'll do it," Trump said. "They're bringing with them a proposal to end the war."

After talks in Moscow, the pair, sent by US president, are expected to travel on to Kyiv on Sunday in Washington's latest bid to break a diplomatic stalemate in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of trying to disrupt the envoys' visit with overnight strikes on Kyiv's two airports, as well as on a civilian target in the Dnipro region that killed five people.

"Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine," Zelensky said on X, adding there would be "no threats to diplomacy" from the Ukrainian side. AGENCIES