Russia doubts Witkoff, Kushner can deliver breakthrough in Moscow

Previous trips by the U.S. negotiators to Russia produced no tangible results, the sources said. Moscow does not expect them to bring proposals this time that the Kremlin would consider acceptable.

Bloomberg’s sources said Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is prepared to discuss ending the war only on Russia’s terms. Moscow is also hardening its demands because it believes it has the advantage on the battlefield, they said.

One of the Kremlin’s key demands remains that the rest of Donetsk Oblast be handed over to Russia as part of a potential agreement. Ukraine has repeatedly rejected such a scenario.

It remains unclear whether Witkoff and Kushner have new proposals that could move the talks forward.

A day earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that the U.S. envoys were expected to visit Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend. Ukraine also said it was prepared to temporarily refrain from airstrikes during the diplomatic visits, expecting Russia to do the same. No confirmed ceasefire agreement is currently in place.