Europe to Participate in Ukraine Peace Talks, Zelensky Announces
European officials will participate directly in upcoming peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, following announcements from Ukrainian leadership and American envoys on Friday.
American envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff traveled to Dublin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after holding discussions at the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The diplomatic push followed two days of direct trilateral talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi under United States mediation.
Kushner and his colleague emissaire Steve Witkoff led more than four hours of discussions with the Russian president at the Kremlin before flying to Dublin to brief Mr. Zelensky.
Kushner expressed optimism regarding the diplomatic efforts. “D’importantes divergences subsistent, mais nous sommes encouragés par les progrès réalisés,” Jared Kushner wrote on X, adding that details regarding the negotiation schedule would be published soon, 20 Minutes reported. Kushner also said that both parties agreed to expand the next series of negotiations to include European partners.
Today concluded three days of intense diplomacy aimed at ending the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine. Following detailed trilateral negotiations with the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi, we traveled to Moscow for direct discussions with President Putin,… pic.twitter.com/6Ry25fzQan
Volodymyr Zelensky announced that European nations would have a direct voice rather than remaining separated in the margins of the discussions, as they were during the talks in the United Arab Emirates.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that no decision concerning European security can be made without European participation. The 40 countries present are taking primary responsibility for their own security together and standing alongside Ukraine, whose security is an integral part of Europe’s, Emmanuel Macron added on X.
Putin also called the potential deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine—requested by Kiev as a security guarantee—”absolument inacceptable.”
“Les Européens le savent et qu’entendons-nous ? Russia currently occupies just over 19% of Ukrainian territory, and since 2022 has claimed the annexation—rejected by Kiev and the international community—of four Ukrainian regions whose entirety it does not control: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Vladimir Putin also proposed organizing a humanitarian operation in the Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, at the heart of the fighting in the Donetsk region. “Faisons quelque chose de similaire à ce que nous avons fait” à Oleshky, Vladimir Putin said, citing the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city in the Kherson region where a humanitarian operation supported by United States First Lady Melania Trump recently took place.”
Moscow continues to demand the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the entire Donetsk region, while Kiev refuses to abandon its fortified positions there.
“Nous ne pouvons pas conclure cet accord sans que les Européens soient à la table des négociations,” Jared Kushner said.