United States envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Washington presses ahead with its latest effort to secure a peace deal in Ukraine. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy, met the two men at their plane on Thursday morning and accompanied them into central Moscow.
The visit follows two days of trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates, which ended in the capital, Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday. Those discussions produced word of another major prisoner exchange but no breakthrough toward ending the war, which is now nearly five years old.
Abu Dhabi talks yield prisoner swap but no breakthrough
The US said the two sides still disagree on major issues, including territory, although some progress has been made on security guarantees for after the war. Kyiv has strongly rejected Putin’s demand that it hand over all of Donbas, its eastern region, in exchange for peace.
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The Abu Dhabi talks were the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine mediated by the US in nine months.
European role remains a sticking point in talks
A correspondent reporting from Moscow said one aim of Thursday’s visit was for the US team to persuade Putin to invite European countries into the negotiation process. Ukraine and the United States want European partners involved, while Moscow insists on talks without them, which is why they have largely been left out so far.
The correspondent added that the US delegation would bring Putin an updated peace proposal. Dmitriev’s presence, she said, suggested the discussions would turn to some of the more complex issues.
Meanwhile, leaders from more than 40 European countries gathered in Dublin on Thursday for a summit on the continent’s security. The meeting of the European Political Community brought together heads of state and government from the European Union and other countries, including the United Kingdom. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also attended.
The European Political Community was set up in 2022 as a forum for countries both inside and outside the 27-nation EU. Zelenskyy and his European allies are expected to discuss the Abu Dhabi talks this week. Kushner and Witkoff are scheduled to meet Zelenskyy in Dublin on Friday, after speaking with Putin.
Ukrainians doubt Moscow talks will bring results
A correspondent reporting from Kyiv, Audrey Macalpine, said Ukrainians do not expect the Moscow talks to produce results. “Over the past two days, we saw just another prisoner exchange, which has been the case in previous talks,” she said.
Macalpine added that little has shifted in the positions of the two sides. “Perhaps the biggest thing of note [in the talks] was that they took place at all,” she said.
France pushes for new EU sanctions against Russia
On Thursday, French Minister Delegate for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad said the EU will approve further sanctions against Russia. Speaking to French television, he said the bloc would act on Monday.
“On Monday, we will take new sanctions against Russia on 150 additional entities, 50 banks, and it’s France which proposed the bulk of the entities to add,” Haddad said.
