US envoy Kushner says he is working to bring Europe into Ukraine peace talks

US envoy Jared Kushner said he is seeking to move Ukraine‑Russia peace talks to the next stage by facilitating direct engagement between Europe and Moscow.

Kushner told reporters on Saturday that “both sides” understand compromises will be needed to end the war and that he and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff are now working on the next steps.

The comments follow peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, which did not produce a breakthrough but did result in a prisoner exchange. In recent weeks, European leaders have agreed to send five representatives – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Poland – to future peace talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Europe cannot be excluded from discussions on European security, while the Kremlin has signalled openness to negotiations with Europe but criticised a lack of proposals from the bloc.

French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X that the EU must “state clearly” its post‑war objectives, including to the Russians, and reaffirmed that Ukraine belongs fully within NATO.

During the Abu Dhabi talks, US negotiators asked whether Ukraine would withdraw troops from the Donbas in exchange for NATO membership, a question Zelenskyy said was raised.

War toll

Leaks from Russia’s official statistics agency indicate that at least 450,000 Russian soldiers have died in the conflict.

Source: Al Jazeera. Photo: Werner Pfennig / Pexels.