Situation at a glance: Trump's emissary with a sensitive message to Putin

Moscow/Kyiv. In the shuttle diplomacy over the Ukraine war, US negotiators will speak again today in Moscow with Russian head of state Vladimir Putin. Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner want to inform Putin about their views on the recent three-way talks with Russia, Ukraine and the USA in Abu Dhabi.

Putin's foreign policy adviser announced the meeting for the first half of the day, the state news agency Tass reported. “They bring something with them,” Ushakov said of the US representatives, without giving details. During the night there were again Russian air strikes in Ukraine, and the capital Kiev was again attacked with ballistic missiles.

This is Witkoff's fourth visit to Putin this year. On the flight back to the USA, Witkoff and Kushner want to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Irish capital Dublin. Heads of state and government from almost 50 countries are meeting there today for the ninth summit of the European Political Community (EPG). The topic will be the ongoing efforts to end the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Among the top politicians who want to come to the summit is Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Zelensky.

According to their own words, the US negotiators in Moscow want to convince the Russian head of state to allow the European states to take part in peace talks in the future. The EU and NATO must be an “integral part” of negotiations to end the war, said Kushner in Abu Dhabi.

According to the federal government, it is more about informing Putin of an agreement with the USA that Europe will have a seat at the table in the future. European representatives were on site in Abu Dhabi and held separate discussions, but did not take part in direct negotiations with Russia. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the meeting as a sign of unity between the USA, Europe and Ukraine.

The only result of the meeting in the United Arab Emirates was that Moscow and Kiev agreed on a further exchange of prisoners. The Ukrainian negotiator David Arachamija was optimistic and spoke of progress. He believes a “solution before the new year” is possible.

In contrast, the head of the Moscow delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, reiterated the unyielding Russian stance. Russia will only be satisfied “when we have won and signed a peace treaty on our terms,” the former culture minister told Russian state television.

Moscow has so far blocked European participation. Recently it has appeared more open because it wants to expand peace negotiations to include talks on a new security order for Europe. Medinski called the current security architecture a sick organism. “This boil burst in Ukraine.”

According to authorities, at least four people were killed in a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian port city of Chornomorsk near Odessa on Wednesday. The drone hit a market in the city center, said the governor of the Odessa region, Oleh Kiper. The port city on the Black Sea is repeatedly the target of Russian attacks.