Kushner Announces Expanded Ukraine Talks Amid EU Divisions

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump's envoy Jared Kushner has described three days of diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict as having achieved "meaningful progress," announcing plans to address territorial disputes and broader European security arrangements in parallel.

In a statement on X, Kushner said the discussions included trilateral Russia-US-Ukraine negotiations in Abu Dhabi, followed by meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in Dublin, as well as consultations with Ukrainian and European security officials. 

He acknowledged that significant differences remain but said both sides had agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include European partners.

Kushner stressed that any settlement would require credible security guarantees, mechanisms to prevent renewed confrontation, and mutual commitments to de-escalation. 

He added that nothing, apart from humanitarian measures, would be finalized before reaching a comprehensive agreement.

However, Moscow has yet to confirm its agreement to direct European participation. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused European governments of sending contradictory signals by speaking of peace while considering troop deployments to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, a proposal Russia has rejected. 

He described their position as moving toward an expansion of the conflict while publicly advocating peace.

Meanwhile, divisions within the European Union over representation in negotiations remain unresolved. 

According to Politico, EU members are split between supporting European Council President Antonio Costa, allowing France and Germany to retain their own seats, or backing foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, whose hardline stance toward Russia could complicate negotiations.