As [reported](https://bb.lv/statja/v-mire/2026/09/06/bolee-trex-casov-za-zakrytymi-dveriami-putin-obsudil-s-poslannikami-trampa-predlozenie-o-prekrashhenii-voiny) by bb.lv, Whitcoff and Kushner spent more than three hours in the Kremlin on September 5 negotiating with Vladimir Putin. The American side brought to Moscow a proposal from Donald Trump regarding a possible cessation of the war. The details of the document were not disclosed publicly. After the Moscow negotiations, the American representatives are expected to head to Kyiv. Thus, Washington is trying to determine whether there is room for compromise between the positions of Russia and Ukraine. However, former Bloomberg journalist and geopolitical expert John Varoli, interviewed by RTVI, believes this mission is practically doomed to fail. "They do not understand what is happening . The visit of Whitcoff and Kushner will be absolutely fruitless," he stated. According to Varoli, the necessary prerequisites for a resolution mediated by the U.S. are currently absent. The expert believes that Moscow assesses the situation in its favor and is therefore not interested in a compromise on the terms that American mediators might propose. Varoli also predicts that Russia aims to achieve a military outcome "by spring or the end of the year." He criticized the assessments of the situation at the front, which he believes are prevalent among American authorities, the intelligence community, and the media. At the same time, these statements reflect the expert's own assessment and do not represent the official position of American intelligence. Political scientist Sergey Kostiayev from Drexel University also evaluates the prospects of the mission skeptically. In a conversation with RTVI, he stated that Trump's peace initiatives currently lack the influence that Washington could have had at earlier stages of the war. According to Kostiayev, the U.S. has lost a significant portion of military-economic leverage over Kyiv, primarily related to large-scale supplies of American weapons. At the same time, the political scientist does not see signs that Moscow is currently eager to end hostilities as soon as possible. "We are witnessing escalation. Therefore, I do not think that the next visit of Kushner and Whitcoff will yield any results. Absolutely meaningless story," Kostiayev said. ### More than Three Hours in the Kremlin The current diplomatic activity began with a lengthy meeting between Whitcoff and Kushner with Putin in Moscow. Russian President's assistant Yuri Ushakov and the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev also participated in the negotiations. Before the meeting, Putin acknowledged that the negotiations would be difficult. Trump, for his part, stated that his representatives were bringing a proposal aimed at ending the war to Moscow. After more than three hours of conversation, the parties announced neither an agreement nor a significant rapprochement in positions. The detailed content of the proposals discussed also remained closed. Attention now shifts to Kyiv, where the American mediators are expected to go. It will be after their negotiations with the Ukrainian leadership that it will become clearer whether Washington has managed to find at least points for further discussion. So far, assessments of the prospects are sharply divergent. The Trump administration continues diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement, while experts interviewed by RTVI believe that the positions of Moscow and Kyiv remain too far apart for a quick result. In this situation, the Moscow meeting becomes more of another test of the possibility of negotiations rather than a sign of an impending agreement. The main indicator of its outcome will no longer be the statements of the participants, but whether any specific plan for further actions emerges after the visits of Whitcoff and Kushner.
