Just after the Abu Dhabi talks ended, Trump’s special envoy flew to Moscow to meet with Putin
The U.S. envoy arrived in Moscow and is expected to hold talks with Putin to try to resolve territorial differences and move toward post-war security.
Quick Look
- President Trump's special envoys Kushner and Vetkov arrived in Moscow on the 12th and are expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to promote the Russia-Ukraine peace agreement.
- Facing the deadlock in territorial negotiations, the United States turned its focus to post-war security and reconstruction.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The United States continues to mediate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and previously held its first direct dialogue in nearly nine months in Abu Dhabi.
Putin's Special Representative Dmitriev (right) picks up U.S. President Trump's special envoys Jared Kushner (the one in black in the middle) and Vetkov (front left) in the rain. (AFP)
U.S. President Trump's special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in the Russian capital Moscow on Thursday (12th) and are expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to continue promoting a peace agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
According to Reuters, the two U.S. envoys arrived at the airport in rain and snow, and were personally picked up by Putin's special representative Kirill Dmitriev and escorted to central Moscow. This was also the 10th meeting between Wittkov and Putin. The previous talks in Abu Dhabi were the first direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine mediated by the United States in the past nine months. Although the two sides reached a consensus on another large-scale prisoner exchange, the United States admitted that they were still deadlocked on major differences such as territory. Ukraine resolutely rejected Putin's request to hand over the entire eastern Donbas region in exchange for peace.
Faced with the deadlock in territorial negotiations, US mediators are trying to shift the focus of discussions to post-war security and reconstruction projects. In addition, Russia's top diplomats released a signal on Wednesday (11th) that Moscow could conclude a non-aggression pact with NATO members as part of Europe's new security architecture. However, most European politicians are opposed to this, stressing that it is not appropriate to discuss overall European security arrangements until a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine and substantial progress is made.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Kushner, Wetkov to hold talks with Putin
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- Can the US-Russian talks break through the territorial differences in Donbas?
- What is Europe's final position on the post-war security architecture?
