Kushner, Witkoff, Dmitriev meet in Paris to discuss Ukraine peace efforts
Jared Kushner, Kirill Dmitriev, and Steve Witkoff (Photo: Sputnik/Kristina Kormilitsyna/Pool via REUTERS)
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s aide Kirill Dmitriev on Jan. 8 in Paris for another round of talks on the U.S.-backed Ukraine peace plan, Axios reported.
“After reaching an agreement with Ukraine on almost all aspects of [U.S. President Donald] Trump's plan, the White House wants to get a clear response from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the proposal,” the article said, citing an unnamed informed source.
“So far, Putin has not shown any public indications that he's ready to agree to, or even seriously consider, the deal the U.S. and Ukraine have been negotiating.”
Earlier this week, the French newspaper Le Monde reported spotting Dmitriev near the U.S. Embassy in Paris. Axios said neither the White House nor Dmitriev’s press secretary would comment.
The meeting followed two days of talks in Paris between Whitkoff; Kushner; and senior Ukrainian and European officials, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, UK PM Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“Those talks focused on two main sticking points: security guarantees for Ukraine and possible territorial concessions by Ukraine in the eastern Donbas region,” Axios writes.
During the Jan. 6 Paris summit, Ukraine, France, and the UK signed declaration of intent on the post-war development of a Franco-British force on Ukrainian soil, serving as a deterrent against further Russian aggression.
In September 2025, Putin warned that Russia would consider foreign troops in Ukraine legitimate targets for military strikes.
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