U.S. Envoys Arrive in Moscow for Talks With Putin After Abu Dhabi Peace Negotiations
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday to meet Vladimir Putin, a day after two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi produced a prisoner-exchange agreement but no wider breakthrough.
U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the next step in a U.S.-led push for a peace deal in Ukraine after two days of negotiations in Abu Dhabi.
The Kremlin talks, expected in the first half of the day, will be the 10th time Witkoff has met Putin in person, according to Reuters. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy, met the two Americans off their plane amid wet snow and accompanied them to central Moscow.
What the Abu Dhabi talks produced
The Abu Dhabi talks, which ended Wednesday, were the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine mediated by the United States in nine months. The two sides agreed to another large prisoner exchange, but the talks ended with no public breakthrough on the wider war.
U.S. mediators said differences remained on major issues, including territory. Kyiv has strongly rejected Putin’s demand that Ukraine surrender the whole of the eastern Donbas region in return for peace. With talks deadlocked on land, U.S. mediators have tried to steer discussions toward postwar security guarantees and reconstruction, Reuters reported.
Attacks continued overnight
The diplomacy unfolded against continued fighting. Explosions were heard in Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, a Reuters witness said, though it was not immediately clear whether the city had incurred damage. Russia said it downed five drones heading for Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.
The envoys are expected to raise the question of adding European partners to the talks. Kushner has said they must be at the table. A senior Russian diplomat said Wednesday that Moscow could conclude non-aggression pacts with NATO member states as part of a new security setup for Europe, though many European politicians say they oppose discussing Europe’s overall security before real progress on Ukraine, including a ceasefire.
After Moscow, Kushner and Witkoff plan to fly to Ireland to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is due to attend a meeting of European leaders there.
Reporting based on coverage by Reuters.
