US, Ukraine: Europe to join Russia talks

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and US envoy Jared Kushner said Thursday Europe would join the next round of talks with Russia, as Vladimir Putin indicated Moscow will not compromise on its hardline demands to end almost five years of war.

In a packed day of shuttle diplomacy following negotiations in Abu Dhabi, Kushner and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff held over four hours of talks with Putin in the Kremlin before jetting to debrief Zelensky in Dublin.

As they spoke to journalists on the tarmac of a military airbase in Ireland, the main piece of progress touted by the Ukrainian leader and US President Donald Trump’s representative was that European negotiators would be at the table for future talks.

Zelensky said Europeans will take part rather than remain “separately” on the sidelines as they were in Abu Dhabi, insisting: “They will have a voice”.

Kushner later reiterated the sentiment in a post on X, writing: “both sides have now agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include our European partners.”

“Significant differences remain, but we are encouraged by the progress made,” he posted, adding the schedule and details on the negotiating track would be released “shortly”.

An EU official told AFP representatives of five European capitals as well as the European Commission also met the US envoys, and that a new multilateral meeting “will be fixed soon”.