Europe to join next round of Russia-Ukraine talks; US working for ‘largest prisoner exchange’

After holding talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Europeans will take part in future Russia-Ukraine talks rather than remain on the sidelines as they were in peace negotiations at Abu Dhabi, and that Moscow had also agreed to it.

“They will have a voice. We cannot conclude this deal without Europeans being at the table,” said Trump envoy Jared Kushner, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “willing to give it a try”.

The representatives of five European nations as well as the European Commission also met the US envoys after which it was confirmed that a new multilateral meeting “will be fixed soon”.

The Kremlin did not confirm whether Putin had agreed to include Europe in future talks, which Kyiv and its allies have long been seeking.

US working for ‘largest prisoner exchange’ of Russia-Ukraine war

US President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner said on Thursday that Washington was working toward the war’s “largest prisoner exchange.”

“We ‌are also working toward the largest prisoner exchange of the war, potentially ​reuniting thousands of people with their families,” Kushner said on social media platform X following talks aimed at ⁠ending the war.

The remarks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed news of European presence at the next round of the US-brokered peace talks, saying he hoped the agenda would include efforts towards ceasefires ⁠and defusing the conflict.

Expansion of the next round of talks with European nations would allow the tackling of “broader postwar European security arrangements alongside the territorial issues between Ukraine and Russia,” Kushner said.

Washington was encouraged by the progress made, he said, but added that significant differences remained.

Earlier, Witkoff said Vladimir Putin agreed to let European representatives join the next round of talks, though the Russian president also urged Washington to work with European allies to understand if they wanted peace or war in Ukraine.

Kushner and Witkoff ⁠travelled to Moscow to meet Putin and to Dublin to meet Zelensky.

Kushner said a lasting end to the fighting required credible security guarantees and reciprocal de-escalation commitments to reduce risk of future conflict.

Russia holds a fifth of Ukraine, and Kyiv refuses to give up the rest of its eastern region of ⁠Donbas.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.