What’s next for Ukraine-Russia peace talks as war approaches fifth year?
U.S. envoys met Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin before heading to Ireland for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Washington sought new momentum for its peace efforts.
Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, brokered talks this week between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv.
The session in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, brought the first direct discussions between Ukrainian and Russian representatives in nine months as the push for a settlement stalled.
The talks produced no major breakthrough, aside from an agreement to swap a large number of prisoners, with the exact figure still to be announced.
Plans for another round of talks were announced as well, with Witkoff and Zelensky saying Europe will join, though they gave no details about which countries or how many.
Kushner and Witkoff met with Putin for about two hours before going to Dublin, where they met with Zelensky for more than an hour as the conflict stretches toward the five-year mark.
Kushner said one goal of the meeting with Putin was to get the Russian leader’s blessing for European representatives to be part of the talks, which are looking at the continent’s broader security arrangements.
In Abu Dhabi, several European security advisers were involved on the sidelines but not in the main three-way talk.
Speaking to reporters before boarding a plane to leave Moscow, Witkoff said the next round of talks has been agreed upon.
Russian state TV showed Witkoff saying that “the Europeans will join at the next meeting,” but he did not elaborate.
Zelensky in Dublin indicated the Europeans would not be on the sidelines.
“Next meeting, Europe will be during negotiations, will be a negotiation team – not some way, not separately. They will have a voice,” he said.
The U.S. and Zelensky want Europe to appoint a single person to negotiate with Moscow.
Russia, meanwhile, doesn’t want European countries involved in the direct negotiations, complaining they are financing and supplying Ukraine’s military effort. The Europeans are concerned about Russia’s conduct and broader intentions on the continent.
