Kushner and Witkoff meet Putin before Dublin talks with Zelenskyy
US envoys seek Russian approval for European participation in security talks as the war nears its fifth anniversary.
By Priya Marino ·
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Thursday to advance a proposed peace deal for Ukraine. The meeting occurred two days after US-mediated discussions in Abu Dhabi concluded on Wednesday without a breakthrough. The envoys traveled to Moscow to brief the Russian leader before heading to Dublin later that day for negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The two US officials helped arrange the first direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in nine months. As part of the interim agreements, both nations agreed in principle to a major prisoner-of-war exchange, although specific numbers have not yet been announced. The diplomatic push comes as Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches its fifth anniversary.
A primary objective for the US team was securing Putin's consent for European representatives to join security discussions. Washington and Kyiv want European nations to select a single delegate to negotiate directly with Moscow. Russia currently opposes European participation in these direct talks, arguing that European countries are funding and supplying Ukraine's war effort.
Putin reiterated Moscow's stance that any European troop presence in Ukraine constitutes a security threat and a legitimate military target. He stated that Russia considers its current line of control as the border with Ukraine. This position aligns with Moscow's 2022 annexation of four Ukrainian regions, which the country claims to own despite not fully capturing all the territory.
In Dublin, Zelenskyy attended a meeting with more than 40 European countries that included NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Rutte said the US, Europe, and Ukraine are aligned on security guarantees following a January meeting in Paris. He emphasized the urgent need for a peace deal or at least a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy noted that political shifts, such as Democrats taking control of Congress in January and upcoming French elections, could create a window of opportunity for a settlement. He called the prisoner exchange a positive step but maintained that Ukraine would not surrender occupied territory for peace. Fighting continued during the diplomatic efforts, with Russia's Defense Ministry reporting that air defenses downed 71 Ukrainian drones. The ministry said strikes hit a drone factory in Kyiv and three other facilities producing missile fuel and drone components.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia launched 123 drones, including 73 jet-powered craft, which struck 17 locations.
