Kathmandu— US special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, marking their first visit to Kyiv since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. The meeting came a day after the envoys met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the visit, emphasizing the importance of continuing discussions to end the conflict.

Ukraine’s Perspective

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked US President Donald Trump for allowing the envoys to visit, stating, 'It is very important that the delegation has arrived to see us. We have been waiting a long time for Steve and Jared, Witkoff and Kushner.' Zelenskyy highlighted the significance of the talks, saying, 'To us, it is very important to do everything so that this war ends.'

US Envoy Statements

Witkoff expressed optimism after the talks, saying, 'We’ve had a very meaningful discussion, substantive, important, and we are very encouraged and we look forward to continuing this as long as it takes.' Kushner added, 'Trump wanted not just to figure out how we end the current war, but how do we create the right conditions and arrangements for a long-term, durable peace.'

International Involvement

British, French, and German national security advisers joined the Ukrainian president, Kushner, and Witkoff for the second round of talks. Zelenskyy emphasized the unity of purpose, stating, 'We are grateful that the Europeans are with us today… Here we are all on the same side.'

Previous Negotiations

Previous rounds of US-mediated peace talks, encouraged by Trump, have yielded few results. The US envoys have visited Moscow eight times but have never held talks in Kyiv until now. The Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the Moscow meeting as 'highly useful,' while a White House official said the next steps would be announced in the coming weeks.

While the talks did not yield new information, the visit itself and the promise of potential future meetings were seen as significant by observers.

(With inputs from Al Jazeera)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.