US envoy Witkoff will meet Putin in Moscow while Zelenskyy tours Europe as peace efforts press ahead

U S special envoy Steve Witkoff and U S President Donald Trump s son-in-law Jared Kushner were due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday taking to the Kremlin an embryonic peace plan that Washington hopes can end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine Coinciding with Witkoff s trip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went to Ireland continuing his visits to European countries that have helped sustain his country s fight against Russia s invasion In what could be a high-stakes day of negotiations Zelenskyy reported he was expecting swift reports later in the day from the U S envoys in Moscow on whether talks could move forward after Trump s initial -point plan was whittled down to in Sunday s talks between U S and Ukrainian leaders in Florida They want to assessment right after that meeting to us specifically The future and the next initiatives depend on these signals Such actions will change throughout in contemporary times even hour by hour I believe Zelenskyy revealed at a news conference in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Miche l Martin If the signals show fair play with our partners we then might meet very soon meet with the American delegation he revealed There is a lot of dialogue but we need results Our people are dying every day Zelenskyy revealed I am ready to meet with President Trump It all depends on in the present day s talks Building on progress in Florida Witkoff and Kushner were seen leaving a restaurant in central Moscow at lunchtime Tuesday ahead of their meeting with Putin After months of frustration in his efforts to stop the fighting Trump is deploying leaders to get traction for his peace proposals Jared Kushner Trump s son-in-law will join the meeting between Putin and Witkoff Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed He declared the talks would take as long as needed and will involve only Witkoff Kushner and an interpreter from the U S side The talks have followed parallel lines so far with U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio sitting down with Ukrainian officers and now Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow Zelenskyy disclosed he met Tuesday with the Ukrainian delegation that returned from the negotiations with U S representatives in Florida Rubio explained those talks made progress but added that there s more work to be done Zelenskyy noted the Florida talks took as their cue a document that both sides drafted at an earlier meeting in Geneva The Ukrainian leader declared that document was now finalized although he didn t explain what that meant Ukrainian diplomats are working to ensure that European partners are substantially involved in decision-making Zelenskyy declared on the Telegram messaging app and warned about what he declared were Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at steering the negotiations Ukrainian intelligence will provide partners with the information we have about Russia s true intentions and its attempts to use diplomatic efforts as cover to ease sanctions and block fundamental collective European decisions Zelenskyy announced European leaders want a say Zelenskyy met with political leaders and lawmakers in Dublin on his first official visit Ireland is officially neutral and isn t a member of NATO but has sent nonlethal military assistance to Ukraine More than Ukrainians have moved to Ireland since Russia launched its war on Feb Though this week s consultations could move the process forward sparse details have become population It remains unclear how envoys are going to bridge the gap between the two sides on such basic differences as who keeps what territory European administrators say the road to peace will be long European leaders who fear Russia s future territorial ambitions and are trying to figure out how they can fund Ukraine s fight beyond this year are trying to make their voices heard after being largely sidelined by Washington They are also working on future safeguard guarantees for Ukraine Zelenskyy was in Paris on Monday and French President Emmanuel Macron disclosed they spoke by phone with Witkoff They also spoke to leaders of eight other European countries as well as top European Union executives and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Macron explained the coming days will see crucial discussions between U S authorities and Western partners Zelenskyy s visit to Paris followed Sunday s meeting between Ukrainian and U S executives which Rubio described as productive Diplomats face a hard time trying to bridge Russian and Ukrainian differences and persuading them to strike compromises The key obstacles over whether Kyiv should cede land to Moscow and how to ensure Ukraine s future safeguard appear unresolved Zelenskyy under pressure Zelenskyy is under severe pressure in one of the darkest periods of the war for his country As well as managing diplomatic pressure he must find money to keep Ukraine afloat address a corruption disgrace that has reached the top echelons of his governing body and keep Russia at bay on the battlefield The Kremlin late Monday claimed that Russian forces have captured the key city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine Zelenskyy however announced in Paris that fighting was still ongoing in Pokrovsk on Monday Ukraine s general staff on Tuesday also denied Russia s declares to have captured Pokrovsk saying it was a propaganda stunt The Ukrainian army is readying additional logistic routes to deliver supplies to troops in the area the Facebook post revealed Follow AP s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https apnews com hub russia-ukraine Source