Europe will join the next round of Ukraine peace talks, United States envoys said on Thursday, after meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the two American envoys leading the latest diplomatic push, met Putin in the Kremlin and then flew to Ireland to brief Zelensky on the Ukraine peace talks. Zelensky said European representatives would take part in the next round of talks rather than remain separately on the sidelines.
Kushner said the United States had worked very closely with European governments for months. He told reporters in Dublin that he had told Putin it mattered for European delegates to be at the table. “We cannot conclude this deal without Europeans being at the table,” he said, speaking alongside the Ukrainian leader.
Witkoff, speaking as he left Moscow, confirmed that European representatives would take part in the next round. “They are our partners, and it is important for them to be involved,” he told reporters. He also told CNN at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport that the trilateral format had been restarted and a new meeting had been set.
Europe’s place in the Ukraine peace talks
The commitment was welcomed by Zelensky, who has pressed for years for Europe to have a direct role in talks about ending the war. “This is important for us because the war is in Europe,” he said after the briefing at Casement Aerodrome in Dublin.
Kushner said the United States wanted a fresh arrangement involving Ukraine, Russia and European countries to prevent another conflict and provide lasting stability. He urged European leaders to agree on a single representative who could present their position during the negotiations.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the expected participation of a European official in the next meeting of the Ukraine peace talks was evidence that Moscow was recognising the continent’s influence in the conflict. European leaders were expected to discuss the peace process on Friday as the EU sought greater clarity about the direction of the US-led effort.
Putin had indicated at the start of Thursday’s meeting that he did not favour a full European role in the discussions. He urged the American envoys to keep working with European governments and to encourage them to clarify their position on the conflict, asking them to establish whether they wanted peace or continued confrontation.
Prisoner exchange agreed at Ukraine peace talks
Thursday did produce one concrete result. Russia and Ukraine agreed to another exchange of prisoners, described as the largest since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Kushner said Washington was working on the largest prisoner exchange of the war, one that could potentially reunite thousands of people with their families. Zelensky hailed the agreement as a real result of the talks.
Witkoff said the major prisoner exchange agreed earlier in the week during the Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi was a sign of progress. The Moscow meeting followed two days of trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
What still divides the sides in the Ukraine peace talks
The announcement does not necessarily mean Russia has made concessions on the issues that divide Moscow and Kyiv. Putin made clear that Russia’s position had not moved, insisting on full control of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims to have annexed.
The extent of European participation, the format of the next meeting of the Ukraine peace talks and the positions of the negotiating parties remain unclear. The Kremlin has yet to confirm which officials will attend the next round.
The meeting in Moscow on November 12 was Witkoff’s 10th with Putin as Washington presses ahead with efforts to broker an end to the war, despite little sign of compromise on the key issues dividing Moscow and Kyiv.
The envoys described their talks with Russia on the Ukraine peace talks as very intense and pledged to work hard to reach President Donald Trump’s goal of ending the war. Witkoff said people had not thought the trilateral format would be restarted. “We have restarted it. We have set a new meeting,” he said.
Sources: BBC News, The Kyiv Independent