Sept. 17 — Russian foreign minister LAVROV said at a public event that talks
with the U.S. have produced no substantive effect and he does not expect them
to. U.S. presidential envoys Witkoff and Kushner visited Russia and Ukraine on
Sept. 5–6 with a so‑called "peace plan"; Russian and U.S. leaders held a
one‑hour call on Sept. 8 and gave positive assessments of the shuttle diplomacy,
but LAVROV said in a Sept. 8 interview that two core issues blocking a complete
end to the conflict remain unresolved.
