U.S. President Donald Trump announced that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, have departed on a new diplomatic mission aimed at reaching an agreement that could end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump revealed the trip himself, saying the goal of the talks was to advance an agreement to end the conflict, which is now in its fifth year.
Witkoff, a real estate investor who has served as one of Trump's key envoys, and Kushner, who held a senior advisory role in the White House, have both taken part in past U.S. diplomatic efforts in the region.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump hinted that the United States has a specific proposal to end the war, though he gave no further details about what it involves. He also did not say whether his envoys would travel to both Russia and Ukraine or only one of the two countries.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Witkoff and Kushner would be in Kyiv on Sunday, after first visiting Moscow.
Trump said he had an idea for peace. He said he had sent Witkoff and Kushner, describing them as two great negotiators who had done great work, to see whether something could be achieved, adding that there might be a good chance of doing so.
Two sources told the Reuters news agency earlier that the two envoys planned to travel to Moscow over the weekend before heading on to Kyiv.
China Dinner Planned for Xi Jinping
Trump said he would host an official dinner at the White House for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is due to visit Washington on September 24.
He told reporters they would hold an official dinner and were going to do great things with China.
Presidential Plane Upgrade Delayed to October
Trump also announced that work to strengthen the security of the presidential aircraft donated to the United States by Qatar would begin in October and take longer than initially expected.
In July, a security threat forced Trump, who was in Turkey at the time, to return to the United States aboard a different aircraft.
Trump said the upgrade would take about 60 days and that the aircraft would be sent in October to be finalized, having previously said the work would take about a month. He is due to travel to Ireland next week.
