The key facts

  • Kushner and Witkoff held talks from Tuesday: Abu Dhabi, Moscow, then a meeting with Zelensky in Dublin
  • The parties agreed to include European partners in the next round of talks
  • The largest prisoner exchange of the war is being discussed; Moscow has not yet commented on Kushner's statement

Europe to get a seat at the negotiating table

US envoy Jared Kushner said on Thursday evening on the social network X that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to expand the next round of peace talks to include European representatives. According to him, this will allow discussing, alongside territorial issues, broader post-war mechanisms of European security. Kushner emphasized that ending the war requires 'credible security guarantees, disengagement mechanisms and mutual commitments to de-escalation.'

The negotiation route and agreements with Kyiv

The statement came after an intensive diplomatic week: since Tuesday, Kushner together with envoy Steve Witkoff took part in trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, then on Thursday met in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin, and after that held a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin, where the latter arrived on Wednesday. Kushner said he agreed with Zelensky on continuing contacts, including with the Ukrainian negotiating team, and confirmed that European security mechanisms will not be agreed without taking Ukraine's interests into account. According to him, interlinked issues will be discussed in parallel, but, apart from humanitarian measures, nothing will be finalized until a comprehensive agreement is reached.

Prisoner exchange and Moscow's position

Kushner called work on the 'largest' prisoner exchange of the war a key outcome of the talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday; he expressed hope that both sides would show the necessary goodwill and promised to soon announce the negotiating tracks, schedule and additional details. 'President Trump is determined to end this terrible war. Significant differences remain, but we are encouraged by the progress achieved,' his statement quoted him as saying. Russian authorities had not commented on Kushner's words at the time of publication. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, after the Kremlin talks, said Moscow is ready to immediately begin agreeing the parameters of a new European security architecture 'in tandem' with the US and hopes for Europe's support, but added that Europe must decide whether it seeks peace or continues the war: 'So far all their practical actions point to the latter.'