Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to include European representatives in the next round of Ukraine peace talks, according to US envoy Steve Witkoff. The development came after Putin met US envoys Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow on Thursday. The two later travelled to Ireland to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
However, Putin warned that sending European troops to Ukraine after a peace deal would be unacceptable to Russia and could lead to the war starting again. He also urged the US to work with its European allies and find out whether they want peace or war in Ukraine, as per Reuters.
Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin in Moscow
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Putin in the Kremlin on Thursday. The meeting lasted about two hours, according to AP. Kushner is also President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
Deep Dive
Why does Putin oppose European troops in Ukraine after a peace deal?
Will European representatives join the next Ukraine peace talks?
How are European troops different from European participation in peace talks?
Witkoff told Russian state TV: “The Europeans will join at the next meeting, which we consider to be a very important moment because they are our partners and it’s important to us that they take part,” as per Reuters.
{{/usCountry}}Witkoff told Russian state TV: “The Europeans will join at the next meeting, which we consider to be a very important moment because they are our partners and it’s important to us that they take part,” as per Reuters.
{{/usCountry}}According to AP, Kushner said one goal of the meeting was to get Putin’s blessing for European representatives to join the talks. Kushner told Putin the US had seen “a big change” on the European side.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov did not confirm that the Europeans would join the next round, according to Reuters. He called the talks “substantive, constructive, frank and useful."
Putin’s warning on Europe
Putin said Russia has never been against talking to Europe, as per Reuters. He said: “As far as the Europeans are concerned, we have never been opposed to engaging in dialogue with Europe, and we have never broken off that dialogue. It was they who broke off the dialogue with the Russian Federation.”
He warned that Europe’s idea of sending Western troops into Ukraine after a peace deal would restart the war. Russia would see it as a threat to its own security, he said.
Putin said: “We would very much like you, gentlemen, and the US administration as a whole, to work with your European allies so that they can finally make up their minds as to what they want: peace or war in Ukraine.”
Putin called any European troops sent to Ukraine after a ceasefire “absolutely unacceptable”. As per AP, Russia would see such troops as a security threat and a legitimate target. “In other words, the war would resume immediately,” the Russian president said.
Putin also said Russia sees its border with Ukraine as now covering the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow says it annexed in 2022.
Putin also proposed a joint Russian-Ukrainian humanitarian mission to Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine. Ushakov said the US envoys welcomed the idea and would be in touch with Russia about it.
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Zelenskyy meets the envoys in Dublin
Witkoff and Kushner then went to Ireland and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The meeting took place at Casement Aerodrome, a military airport in west Dublin, according to Bloomberg.
Zelenskyy said progress was made. He welcomed a prisoner swap deal. “This is real result. This is very important,” he said. “We are happy that more than 1,000 of our people will come home.”
Zelenskyy also said Europe will have a presence at the next round of talks. “They will have a voice. This is important for us because the war is in Europe,” he said.
As per AP, Zelenskyy said: “Next meeting, Europe will be during negotiations, will be a negotiation team - not some way, not separately. They will have a voice.”
Kushner said, as per Bloomberg: “We cannot conclude this deal without the Europeans being at the table.”
Zelenskyy also said he hopes the talks will include steps toward a ceasefire, as per Reuters. “It’s important that everything is unblocked,” he said. “We decided that we will work on an agenda about any kind of de-escalation, some kind of ceasefires... I hope that we will have such agenda. Yes, this is important.”
Also read: US envoys meet Zelensky after Putin signals no compromise
Starshield trouble for Ukraine
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is facing new restrictions on the US-made Starshield satellite service. Starshield is the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink. Zelenskyy said the disruptions affect the entire front line, as per Reuters.
As per AP, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian drones are limited to speeds of 161 kph (100 mph). He said a military investigation found the restrictions were not random errors.