U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday that European representatives would join the next round of Ukraine peace talks after he and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said talks with Ukraine would continue, but did not confirm who would attend the next session. A date and venue have yet to be announced.
Witkoff told Russian state television that Washington wanted its European partners at the meeting. The American envoys then met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Dublin Airport. The trip follows two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, the first direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in nine months.
Where Europe fits in
European officials were already involved in Abu Dhabi. Zelenskyy said representatives from European countries, the European Commission and NATO held meetings there. European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday that the EU had been present and would stay involved in the talks. Witkoff's statement leaves open which countries or institutions would join the U.S., Ukraine and Russia in the next round and what role they would have.
That role matters to the U.S. effort because Ukraine is seeking security guarantees for any settlement, and Europe would have a role in carrying them out. Putin said Thursday that Russia would see a deployment of Western troops to Ukraine after a deal as a threat. Zelenskyy had told reporters in Dublin that a settlement needed European participation. EU leaders say they are working on postwar reconstruction and plan to discuss Ukraine's 2027 financing at their Nov. 26 and 27 meeting.
What the talks have produced
Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a prisoner exchange in Abu Dhabi, though the swap still has to take place. The two sides remain divided on territory. Moscow wants Kyiv to surrender the rest of the eastern Donbas region, including land that Russian forces do not control. Ukraine has rejected that demand.
Putin also proposed a joint Russian-Ukrainian humanitarian mission in Kostiantynivka, a city in eastern Ukraine. Ushakov said the U.S. envoys had welcomed the idea. Thursday’s public accounts gave no indication that Ukraine had agreed to the proposal.
Zelenskyy had said he expected a briefing on the Moscow talks. The next round with Russia and Ukraine is a separate meeting. The envoys had announced neither a ceasefire nor a settlement on territory by Thursday afternoon in the United States.
