US President Donald Trump’s envoys arrived at the Kremlin on Thursday for talks with President Vladimi Putin, as Washington sought to generate new momentum in peace efforts after two days of US-mediated negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, brokered the talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which were the first direct discussions between Russian and Ukrainian officials in nine months as the push for peace stalled this year.
The talks wrapped up Wednesday with an agreement on a large exchange of prisoners, with the exact number still to be agreed.
The talks produced no visible breakthrough on ending the nearly five years of large-scale attack, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, after the fighting initially started in 2014 in eastern Ukraine.
But Kushner and Witkoff appeared keen to seize the moment and went straight to the Kremlin.
Kushner said that one of the goals of the meeting with Putin is 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.
The U.S. and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are looking for Europe to appoint a single person to negotiate with Moscow.
At the moment, Moscow doesn’t want European countries, which are concerned about Russia’s conduct and broader intentions on the continent, involved in the direct negotiations. Moscow complains that Europe is financing and supplying weaponry to Ukraine and is part of the problem holding up a deal.
Many in Europe see the inclusion of Russia in discussions about European security as an unwelcome concession to Putin, who has described NATO’s eastward expansion as a top security threat to his country. Moscow has demanded that the trans-Atlantic alliance’s troops be pulled back from Russia’s borders.
Some analysts say negotiators may be looking to grant Russia concessions on NATO’s strategy in return for peace in Ukraine — a possibility that has alarmed European governments.
After meeting with Putin, Kushner said that he and Witkoff will fly to Dublin, Ireland, to meet later Thursday with Zelenskyy, who is attending a meeting of more than 40 European countries that also includes NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
