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Donald Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the day after trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi. Their main goals are to discuss the exchange of prisoners and convince Moscow to include the Europeans in the process of negotiations on a new “security architecture” on the continent.
Negotiations with US representatives lasted about 2.5 hours.
Kushner and Witkoff flew to Moscow on Thursday morning, where, as on previous visits, they were met by the Russian President's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev.
At a press conference following trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi, Jared Kushner named two purposes of his trip to Moscow: to discuss the prisoner exchange with Putin (all negotiators previously stated that the parties had agreed on an exchange in general, but did not disclose details) and to convince him to allow Europeans to the negotiating table.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that “a lot will depend” on the meeting of American representatives in Moscow.
“Of course, we want to achieve results by the end of the year, and of course, we will do everything possible for this,” Zelensky said, adding that, in his opinion, it is also important for Washington to achieve results this year.
What Putin said at the beginning of the meeting
In addition to Vladimir Putin himself and the American envoys, the meeting was also attended by the head of the Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi, Vladimir Medinsky, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev.
In the open part of the meeting, Putin asked Kushner and Witkoff to convey gratitude to Trump for “organizing our contacts with the Ukrainian side,” and to US First Lady Melania Trump for participating in organizing a humanitarian mission in Aleshki (Ukrainian name: Oleshki). He also proposed organizing a similar mission in Konstantinovka, Donetsk region.
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According to Putin, Russia needs five days to clear the city of mines.
The Russian president told American envoys that their assessments “from a European angle” mattered to Moscow. Kushner and Witkoff responded by saying that they see the Europeans’ desire to end the conflict in Ukraine and participate in negotiations—and have already begun discussing with them the “security architecture” on the continent.
Putin also said that dialogue with Europe had ended because of the Europeans, not Moscow, and that he wanted the United States to help Europe decide whether it wanted peace or war.
In his opening speech, Putin also touched on the territorial issue. For Russia, there is only one line of demarcation with Ukraine - the state border, he said. According to the current version of the Constitution, Moscow considers four Ukrainian regions - Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye - to be Russian regions.
"Security Architecture"
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The focus of the trilateral negotiations, compared to previous meetings, has shifted from immediate de-escalation, a potential peace treaty and territorial issues to the “security architecture” in Europe.
The meeting in Abu Dhabi, writes the American publication Axios, citing sources, was initially tense and emotional, but Kushner and Witkoff de-escalated the situation, saying that the purpose of the negotiations was to develop options that could then be presented to the presidents. As a result, the conversation, according to the publication’s interlocutor, became more constructive.
The White House wants to simultaneously discuss a new “security architecture” in Europe and a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, but agreements on security guarantees, according to the Americans, will come into force only after the end of the war.
“Zelensky will not approve the [peace] agreement until he knows what will happen with security guarantees, and Putin wants to know that too. That’s why security is so important,” a source told Axios. At the same time, the publication’s interlocutor said, the United States will not allow Russia to have a veto over European security issues—and Washington will not agree to a deal unless the Europeans and Ukrainians agree to it.
What was discussed in Abu Dhabi
After trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi - the first such meeting since February - the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that mutual understanding had been reached with the Americans on some issues (but not on others). He spoke harshly about Europe, accusing it of “deceiving the Ukrainian people” by supplying arms to Kyiv.
Representatives of European countries who came to Abu Dhabi (the American and Ukrainian delegations held a briefing with them before the trilateral negotiations and following their results) were called “tourists” by Medinsky. He also said that Europeans can only come to the negotiating table when “their conscience awakens.”
The same position was repeated by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov on Thursday. Involving Europeans in negotiations, he said, could mean derailing useful efforts.
photo copyrightALEXANDER RYUMIN/TASS
According to Axios sources, Kushner and Witkoff explained to the Russian delegation that for a serious discussion of security issues in Europe, Moscow must agree to include the Europeans in future negotiations.
Despite harsh statements from Moscow, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday said that, apparently, Russia is beginning to understand that it is impossible to discuss the end of the war in Ukraine without the participation of Europeans.
“This is first and foremost good news,” Merz said, adding that much would depend on meetings in the coming days.
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The Russian delegation, writes Axios, at the negotiations in Abu Dhabi cited the lack of response from Joe Biden, who then served as US President, to Putin’s letter in 2021 on NATO expansion as the reason for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kushner and Witkoff responded that the world has changed a lot since 2021, one of the sources told Axios.
Then Moscow, in an ultimatum, demanded that Washington abandon NATO’s expansion to the east and withdraw alliance troops from the territories of countries that joined after 1997 (among them Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria).
In Abu Dhabi, Kushner and Witkoff, according to Axios, invited the Russians to prepare a new proposal that would address Moscow's security concerns and demands. The proposal should also outline the “symmetrical steps” Russia is willing to take to de-escalate—and to reassure Europe that Russia will not attack in the future.
“We told the Russian delegation - they obviously have their own wishes and their own concerns, and we were able to discuss them: you have to provide other de-escalation options, other proposals, if you want Europe to receive them positively,” Kushner said at a news conference.
“Now the parties do not trust each other, and this is expected after such a conflict,” he explained.
“I think this was a good first step,” Kushner concluded.
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