World

Ukraine's Zelenskiy says he had 'positive' conversation with Witkoff and Kushner

June 9, 2026 11:00 am

Source: Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had a “positive” conversation with ​U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and praised ‌what he called their readiness to work on a settlement of the Ukraine war in the coming weeks.

“A very positive conversation,” Zelenskiy said on ​the Telegram messaging app of the conversation during a ​stopover in the Moldovan capital Chisinau.

Get a look at the day ahead in European and global markets with the Morning Bid Europe newsletter. Sign up here.

“Grateful for the readiness ⁠to work as actively as possible already in the ​weeks to come to give a boost to diplomacy for ending ​Russia’s war against Ukraine,” he wrote.

Article continues after advertisement

Zelenskiy was returning to Kyiv from talks in London with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany on how to ​move forward with a settlement of the more than four-year-old ​war.

The three leaders supported a proposal for a meeting between Zelenskiy and Russian ‌President ⁠Vladimir Putin to try to secure a ceasefire, and said Europe would play a role.

U.S.-brokered talks on the Ukraine conflict, overseen by Witkoff and Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, have ​been stalled, with ​Washington clearly ⁠focused on the conflict in Iran.

In his comments, Zelenskiy said he understood much of the world’s ​attention remained concentrated on Iran, “but our common goal ​regarding peace ⁠in Europe is on the agenda”.

He said he and the U.S. envoys discussed the prospects of talks at the forthcoming G7 ⁠summit ​in the French resort of Evian and ​expressed thanks to the United States and for the “positive assessment of Ukraine’s position”.