Putin holds 3-hour 'constructive' meeting with US envoys ahead of their Kyiv trip

Russian President Vladimir Putin engaged in "constructive" talks lasting over three hours with US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow on Saturday night, ahead of the delegation's visit to Kyiv on Sunday.

The diplomatic push comes as both Moscow and Kyiv said they would observe a temporary, three-day pause on capital airstrikes through Monday.

Putin had "substantive, constructive and extremely frank" talks with the US envoys "in a trusting atmosphere" at the Kremlin, with discussions on extremely serious issues taking place both in a working-format setting and informally over dinner, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said early Sunday morning. The conversation lasted three hours and 10 minutes.

Putin reaffirmed Russia's readiness to continue joint work with the United States in search of political and diplomatic solutions to the Ukrainian issue, Ushakov said.

Ushakov said that the Russian side provided clear and comprehensive assessments of the situation unfolding amid the special military operation.

"In particular, note was taken of the real advances made by the Russian army within the combat zone; confidence was expressed in achieving the stated objectives, and the need to eliminate all root causes of the conflict was emphasized," he noted.

The talks were not confined to an exchange of views on resolving the Ukraine crisis. Economic matters and potential large-scale, mutually beneficial Russian-US projects were also discussed in considerable detail, Ushakov said.

Overall, the negotiations can be described as "timely and highly beneficial" for both sides, Ushakov said, adding that it was confirmed that the heads of state of the two countries would maintain personal contact going forward and that work through Witkoff and Kushner would continue.

Ushakov said that the US envoys pledged that during their upcoming contacts in Kyiv "tomorrow," they would relay observations and assessments they had received directly from the Russian president regarding efforts to reach a durable, peaceful settlement to the Ukraine conflict.

Ukraine says ready to observe ceasefire during negotiations

Ukraine is ready to observe a ceasefire in airstrikes against the Russian cities involved in the negotiation process, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Saturday.

"From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow," Zelenskyy said on X after a phone conversation with Witkoff and Kushner.

Ukraine is expecting Russia to take similar steps regarding Kyiv, Zelenskyy said.

According to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Witkoff and Kushner plan to visit Kyiv on Sunday following their trip to Moscow.

Zelenskyy said on Thursday that he expected to meet the US envoys in the Ukrainian capital.

Putin has ordered a three-day halt to strikes against Kyiv, a move linked to preparations for contacts with the US envoys, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.

(With input from Xinhua)