US President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are in no hurry to visit Kyiv, despite previous assurances. Washington is increasingly worried that another attempt to join peace talks will again fail.
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Diplomats are hesitant despite the fact that this trip has been discussed inside the White House for several months. It was supposed to be their first visit to Ukraine. At the same time, both envoys have already traveled to Moscow several times to meet with Putin, writes The Kyiv Independent.
“They have promised many times to come to Kyiv, but they have never done so,” said a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the situation, stressing that Kyiv is frustrated by such an uneven approach to diplomacy.
This dissatisfaction has already come out in the public sphere. President Volodymyr Zelensky has openly criticized this position. He called the regular visits of Americans to Russia without a return visit to Ukraine a blatant disrespect.
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This trip was not just a show of good intentions. According to another source, the visit was intended to push for the resumption of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States, which are currently at an impasse.
The dialogue has been completely frozen for over two months. The main reason is that Washington's attention has now almost completely shifted to the war with Iran and related events.
The last round of trilateral talks took place on February 16, and the next meeting, scheduled for the end of February, was postponed shortly before the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
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Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were expected to fly to Kyiv first to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and then head to Moscow for talks with Putin, two sources said. But those plans are now being shelved for several reasons.
First, both of Trump’s envoys are now fully immersed in the US-Iran talks. This crisis has become a major topic for Washington. The White House’s priorities have shifted so much that Ukraine is no longer a top issue on their international agenda. Second, travel during a full-scale war has its harsh realities. With Ukrainian skies closed since 2022, the only way to get to Kyiv is by train. “The problem for them is traveling by train — it’s difficult for Witkoff,” said a source familiar with the situation.
But the main problem is the lack of real progress in the negotiations. Diplomats fear that this visit will only confirm once again that the parties have reached an impasse. The key stumbling block still remains the issue of the occupied Ukrainian territories.
A White House representative noted in a comment to The Kyiv Independent that the possibility of a visit is still being discussed, but there is no exact date for the trip.
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Despite the pause in such meetings at the highest level, contacts between Kyiv and Washington do not cease. However, as one official summed up: “Current circumstances in the US are not conducive to active work on Ukraine precisely because of the war in Iran.”
The other day, Trump spoke with Putin, after which he made a controversial statement about Ukraine, confusing it with Iran.