Trump negotiators to visit Moscow after birthday call with Putin
Donald Trump's top negotiators will travel to Moscow after Vladimir Putin rang the US president on his 80th birthday to discuss Ukraine and Iran, according to the Kremlin.
Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump's special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, are expected to return to Russia "soon", Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy aide, said.
The two men are currently involved in the US push for an Iran agreement, and there was no independent confirmation of Moscow's claim that a visit had been arranged for them.
Nor was there any suggestion from Kyiv or Washington that Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner would also travel to Ukraine.
"The conversation focused on the situation surrounding the memorandum of understanding being drafted between the United States and Iran," Mr Ushakov told reporters. "Donald Trump said an agreement is close."
The Kremlin also said the two leaders discussed the war in Ukraine. Moscow's apparent charm offensive comes as Mr Trump prepares to meet Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the G7 summit in Evian, France, which starts on Monday.
Jared Kushner (left) and Steve Witkoff have been heavily involved in Donald Trump's efforts to broker international peace agreements - Reuters
The Ukrainian president said he had also spoken to Mr Trump on Sunday in what Mr Zelensky's office described as a "substantive" 30 to 35-minute conversation about "diplomacy and war/peace".
"I congratulated President Trump on his birthday, and we have had quite a detailed discussion about many key things – peace, surely, was among them," the Ukrainian president wrote on X.
He said he had updated Mr Trump about "the latest developments on the battlefield and how our position has strengthened", and promised that the two men would discuss "good ideas that could help advance peace and protect lives" at the G7.
Mr Trump has agreed to take part in a working session on Ukraine with Mr Zelensky on Tuesday. A senior US administration official said no formal bilateral meeting between the two men was scheduled.
Violent protests broke out in Geneva ahead of the G7 summit which is due to start on Monday - GABRIEL MONNET/AFP
The talks come after US-led attempts to broker an end to Russia's invasion were pushed down the agenda by the war with Iran.
Mr Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the conflict quickly, but has angered Kyiv and European allies by pressing Ukraine to consider concessions to Russia.
His relations with Mr Zelensky remain bruised after a tense White House meeting last year when the Ukrainian leader was publicly berated in scenes that alarmed European capitals.
Putin, by contrast, has continued to pursue direct channels to the White House while rejecting a European role in any settlement.
The Kremlin announcement appeared designed to show that Moscow still has access to Mr Trump's inner circle on the eve of a G7 summit expected to be dominated by Ukraine and Iran.
Donald Trump is due to meet Volodymyr Zelensky at the G7 on Tuesday, 16 months after they clashed at the White House - JIM LO SCALZO/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
European leaders will be keen to avoid Washington once again cutting a deal over their heads.
The diplomacy came as thousands of anti-G7 protesters marched through Geneva, where many leaders arrived before travelling on to Evian. Demonstrators view the summit as a symbol of overly concentrated political and economic power.
Police put the crowd at up to 7,000 as the procession started, while AFP journalists later estimated it at closer to 15,000. A Tesla was set alight as delegations arrived for the summit under tight security.