US pushes for European presence at Ukraine-Russia talks, which Moscow refuses to confirm

13-Nov-2026

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"Both sides have now agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include our European partners," US special envoy Jared Kushner said. Moscow has not confirmed whether it has agreed to include European negotiators in subsequent talks.

US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ireland this week following a visit to the Kremlin, after which they pushed for Europeans to be present at the negotiating table in future talks.

The pair landed at a military base near Dublin on November 13, where they addressed the media alongside Zelenskyy.

Other matters, such as a ceasefire - or any concrete steps towards ending the war - took a back seat as the key point of progress announced by the trio was that European negotiators would be involved in future discussions on ending Russia's all-out war on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy told reporters that Europe would have a "voice" during future talks and that it would not be kept "separately" on the sidelines - as had happened in recent trilateral negotiations between US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi.