Meeting with US President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff

Vladimir Putin received in the Kremlin Special Envoy of the President of the United States of America Steve Witkoff.

On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov Ushakov YuryAide to the President and Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev Dmitriev KirillCEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries ; on behalf of the United States, the meeting was attended by entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Affinity Partners Jared Kushner.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, I heartily welcome you to Moscow.

The situation we are to sort out today is, of course, a difficult one.

But before we begin, I would like to ask you to convey my best wishes and words of gratitude to the President of the United States, Mr Trump Trump DonaldPresident of the United States of America .

While he realizes that he is facing a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to resolve it and to contribute to the settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Today, we will discuss all its components and all its aspects, and for our part, we are also ready to inform you about our view of the situation.

As you informed us, I know that you are planning to go to Kiev after visiting Moscow. In any case, of course, no matter what happens next, contacts of this kind are certainly always beneficial. And here, of course, the quality of mediation and trust in those who are engaged in it are very important. I'd like to tell you that we find it comfortable to work with you, and, of course, we have a very high level of trust during this work.

We are glad to see you. Welcome.

Steve Witkoff: So, first of all, President Putin, thank you so much for having us.

We were sitting outside just now, me, Jared and Kirill, and then Yury joined us, and we were all talking about when we retire, we'll have all these incredible stories and incredible memories, and yours will be right at the top of it all.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Steve Witkoff: President Trump sends you his best wishes. The Gilman family is incredibly indebted to you and thanks you very, very much for Bob Gilman being allowed to come home.

Vladimir Putin: They should be thanking President Trump; it was he who made the appeal.

Steve Witkoff: They have thanked President Trump, but they've thanked you also, sir.

I want to thank you for endorsing the no shoot policy in Kiev and in Moscow for these three days that allowed us to be able to come here in a safe manner.

Vladimir Putin: We received this request through official channels - both through the intelligence services and through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - to stop the strikes on Kiev. I issued the respective order, and since midnight on September 5, these strikes on Kiev have not been carried out.

I would like to note that the Ukrainian side has also significantly reduced - by an order of magnitude - the strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, including Moscow.

The Ukrainian authorities have published their call for a broader three-day truce, but we have never agreed on this with them. Yet we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the negotiation process and the mediators, represented by you and, perhaps, by those accompanying you.

Steve Witkoff: Thank you.

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