Ukraine war: USA: Putin wants to let Europeans at the negotiating table

Dublin. According to the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to allow the Europeans to the negotiating table in Ukraine peace talks. Negotiator Jared Kushner announced on Friday night that there was agreement to include the European partners in the next round of negotiations. It is expected that the schedule and further details will be announced shortly.

US President Donald Trump's son-in-law met the Kremlin chief on Thursday together with his US colleague Steve Witkoff in Moscow. Kushner and Witkoff then traveled to Dublin to speak on the sidelines of a European summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and security advisers from Germany, Italy, France, Ireland and Poland as well as the EU institutions.

There remain significant differences between the positions of Russia and Ukraine, but the progress made is encouraging, Kushner said afterwards: “We have made significant progress in understanding the concerns of both sides, identifying possible solutions and charting a path forward.”

Kushner and Witkoff initially met with representatives from Moscow and Kiev in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday. These were the first direct talks between the warring parties under US mediation in more than eight months. The Europeans were only allowed to be present on the sidelines; they were not invited to the discussions with the Russian delegation.

The new developments could now further heat up the debate about a possible European negotiator - although the next talks are unlikely to take place at top level. At a meeting of around 40 European heads of state and government in Dublin on Thursday, there was no consensus on the issue.

Accordingly, Germany, France and Great Britain, as so-called E3 states, supported by EU and NATO representatives, could retain the lead in contacts with the US negotiators Kushner and Witkoff. Depending on whether security, financial or economic issues are involved, other actors would also be involved.

Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz also made it clear at the summit of the European Political Community (EPG) - a platform for political coordination between European countries - that he did not think it was necessary to select a single top representative at this point in time. “What matters here is not people, but rather that Putin is willing to hold talks,” said Merz. It is important that Russia comes to the table and shows willingness to talk. Everything else will then fall into place.

Previously, Kushner's comments on Wednesday sparked a new debate about Europe's voice in the negotiations. “If Europe could identify a person to speak on its behalf, that would be a greater success than getting the Russians to participate,” he said.

Kushner was alluding to the fact that the Europeans do not have a clearly defined negotiator and have not always acted in a fully coordinated manner. This always causes discussions within Europe. This was the case most recently when Finland's President Alexander Stubb and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called Kremlin leader Putin on their own initiative at the end of October.

At the summit, Meloni, like Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden, was open to EU Council President Costa representing Europe in talks between Ukraine and Russia. The problem, however, is that important non-EU members such as Great Britain may not want to be represented by the President of the European Council.

Germany and France have also so far shown no willingness to engage in a discussion that could lead to them losing their direct participation in the negotiation process. “We are not a United States of Europe,” said Irish Minister of State for Europe Thomas Byrne about the fact that the situation is completely different for the USA, but also for Russia and Ukraine.

The heads of state and government of the EU states want to discuss further current issues with a view to Ukraine at an informal meeting today following the EPG summit. This will also involve financing further support for the country, which has been exposed to a Russian war of aggression since 2022.