US envoys to push Russia for European role in peace talks, Politico reports
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff want European representatives to join negotiations after the trilateral meeting scheduled for 10 November in Abu Dhabi, according to US officials cited by Politico.
By Marina Weber ·
US President Donald Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff plan to press Russia to accept direct European participation in future negotiations on the continent's security, Politico reported, citing US officials. European Pravda relayed the report ahead of talks involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine scheduled for 10 November in Abu Dhabi.
Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, and Witkoff, his special envoy, are due to mediate the first trilateral talks since February. The officials said the two envoys want to speed up negotiations and intend this week's meeting to be the final round held without full European participation. That timetable would leave European governments and EU institutions little time to agree on their representatives.
US officials also welcomed direct telephone calls made by the leaders of Finland and Norway to Russian leader Vladimir Putin on 27 October. They argued that European countries should engage more actively with Moscow, allowing them to hear Russia's positions firsthand and communicate directly the messages they have been conveying to Washington.
Europe remains deeply divided over both who should represent it and whether Ukraine's European allies should hold talks with Putin at all. EU leaders are expected to address those questions at an informal summit in Dublin later this week, as Washington pushes for a broader negotiating format.
The proposed discussions come amid European fears that Trump could accept Putin's longstanding demands to diminish NATO's influence in the region. US officials cited by Politico insisted that the alliance would continue to be central to Europe's collective defence. At the same time, they argued that Europe's relationship with Russia required a fundamental rethink.
One official linked European reluctance to reconsider the continent's security arrangements to Russia's earlier proposals for changes and the failure of previous agreements. The official maintained that a new arrangement was needed, despite those experiences.
The US administration's broadly outlined proposal for a new European security agreement with Russia has already drawn scepticism and concern in European capitals, including fears that Europe could be sidelined in negotiations. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has rejected calls to establish a new European security architecture as a way to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also raised objections on 7 November, warning the Trump administration that its proposed security plan for Europe could be dangerous. He pointed to the absence of signs that Russia wanted to end the war.
