Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has agreed to allow European representatives to participate in the next round of Ukraine peace negotiations, a move welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as the United States intensifies efforts to end the war.
The agreement was announced by US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff after a meeting with Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.
However, the Russian leader urged Washington to work with its European allies to determine whether they genuinely wanted peace or war in Ukraine.
“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,” Witkoff told Russian state television.
Witkoff and fellow US envoy Jared Kushner subsequently travelled to Ireland, where they met Zelenskiy.
The Ukrainian president expressed satisfaction with the prospect of European participation in the negotiations, saying he hoped discussions would focus on a ceasefire and measures to de-escalate the conflict.
“It’s important that everything is unblocked,” Zelenskiy said after meeting the envoys in Dublin, where he was attending a European summit.
The development followed two days of trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
The talks, the first direct US-mediated negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in nine months, reportedly recorded some progress, although major disagreements over territorial issues remained.
Russia currently controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, while Kyiv has rejected Moscow’s demand that it surrender the remaining parts of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
During the Kremlin meeting, US envoy Jared Kushner told Putin that Washington had observed what he described as “a big change” in Europe’s position and expressed confidence that bringing European representatives into the negotiations would not obstruct progress.
Putin said Russia had never opposed dialogue with the European Union but accused European governments of ending diplomatic engagement with Moscow.
“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 said.
The Russian president also warned that any deployment of Western troops in Ukraine following a potential peace agreement would lead to renewed hostilities, arguing that Moscow would consider such a move a threat to its security.
“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 said.
Despite Witkoff’s announcement, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov did not confirm that European representatives would attend the next round of negotiations. He described Europe’s current position on Ukraine as “a recipe for endless war.”
Zelenskiy also raised concerns over restrictions affecting Starshield, the US-made satellite communication system used by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.
He said the disruptions were affecting the entire front line and parts of Ukraine under Russian control.
“So far we know very little (on the Starshield restrictions). But some things are already clear: if someone in America is making decisions that basically treat Ukrainian territory as if it is not Ukrainian, then it tells us where things are going,” Zelenskiy said.
In a separate proposal, Putin suggested establishing a joint Russian-Ukrainian humanitarian mission to Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, a city Moscow claims to control.
Kyiv has disputed the assertion, maintaining that its forces still have a presence in the area.
Putin said Russia would require five days to clear mines around the city before the proposed mission could proceed, adding that between 400 and 500 residents remained there.
According to the Russian leader, the initiative would also help establish which side controlled the city.
Kremlin aide Ushakov said the US envoys welcomed the humanitarian proposal and would maintain contact with Moscow over its implementation.
However, Kyiv has expressed concerns that ceasefires could be exploited by Russian forces to regroup.
Putin’s latest diplomatic move has not altered Moscow’s territorial demands.
The Russian president reiterated his determination to establish what he considers Russia’s state border as the only meaningful demarcation line with Ukraine, signalling continued efforts to take full control of the four Ukrainian regions Moscow declared annexed in 2022.
