US Envoy Says Europe Will Join Next Ukraine Talks, but Kremlin Hedges

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday that Europeans will take part in the next round of Ukraine peace talks, a move that would give Europe a seat at the table for the first time. The Kremlin has not confirmed it, according to The Moscow Times, and Russian President Vladimir Putin made clear that big differences remain.

Witkoff and fellow envoy Jared Kushner met Putin in Moscow, then flew to Ireland to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in Dublin for a European summit. Al Jazeera reported that the U.S. and Russia agreed to continue direct talks after a nine-month pause.

What was agreed and what is still open

Witkoff told Russian state TV that the Europeans will join the next meeting, calling it an important moment because they are partners of the United States. He told CNN that progress was made and that the three-way format with the U.S., Ukraine and Russia has now started. Kushner, speaking next to Zelenskyy in Dublin, said the deal cannot be concluded without Europeans being “at the table.”

The picture on the Russian side is less clear. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov did not confirm European participation, The Moscow Times reported, and described Europe's stance on Ukraine as a recipe for endless war. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he expects Putin to accept a European seat, according to DW.

Putin said Moscow has never refused dialogue with Europe and blamed European leaders for breaking it off. He urged the U.S. to push its European allies to decide whether they want peace or war in Ukraine.

Where Putin has not moved

Putin rejected the idea of foreign peacekeeping troops in Ukraine after a deal, warning that they would become legitimate targets and that Russia sees them as a security threat. Al Jazeera reported that he called the border with Ukraine the line of control, a reference to Russia's claim to four Ukrainian regions it annexed in 2022 but never fully captured. Kyiv has strongly rejected demands to hand over the rest of the Donbas region.

The talks earlier this week in Abu Dhabi were the first U.S.-mediated direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in nine months. Both sides reported some progress, but major differences remain, including on territory. The U.S. said some progress was made on post-war security guarantees.

Prisoner exchange and a proposed aid mission

Zelenskyy welcomed an agreement to exchange prisoners of war, which DW said he described as the biggest exchange of the war. He said the soldiers would come home to their families.

Putin also proposed a joint humanitarian mission to Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, where he said 400 to 500 civilians remain. He suggested copying the recent arrangement for the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky, which let residents leave and brought aid to those who stayed. Ushakov said the U.S. envoys welcomed the idea. Kyiv has voiced concern that Moscow could use such missions under a ceasefire to let its military regroup, and Ukraine has previously disputed Russian claims of control over the city.

What this means for the war and for Europe

If Europeans do sit at the table, Europe would be present for talks on a ceasefire and on the post-war security order, issues that directly affect its own defense. Zelenskyy said he hopes the agenda will include steps toward de-escalation and ceasefires, and said he found the U.S. approach of discussing a new European security order with Russia “a bit strange.” Kushner said the U.S. has started talks with European countries on post-war security arrangements.

Al Jazeera's reporter in Kyiv said Ukrainians did not expect the Moscow meeting to produce results, and that the most notable point was simply that it took place.

What happens next

A date for the next round has not been reported. Ushakov said Putin would discuss Ukraine with U.S. President Donald Trump at an APEC summit in China later this month. France's European affairs minister, Benjamin Haddad, said the EU will approve new sanctions on Monday against 150 additional entities and 50 banks.

Fighting continued during the diplomacy. Ukrainian officials said a Russian overnight attack killed a woman in Kyiv and injured five people, and that 89 of 123 Russian drones were shot down. Ukraine's military said it has struck Russia's five largest oil refineries since Oct. 30.

Earlier on Around Prague: Dmitriev greets US negotiators in a Russian Olympic team jacket

Around Prague, based on reporting by DW.com, Al Jazeera, The Moscow Times

Cover photo: U.S. Embassy Jerusalem / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped

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