US Urges Russia to Let Europe Join Ukraine Talks

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will press Russia to accept Europe’s direct participation in the next round of Ukraine peace negotiations, Politico reported on Tuesday, Nov. 10, as talks resumed in Abu Dhabi.

The White House representatives want this week’s meeting to be the last without full European participation, Politico reported, citing US officials granted anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

“We need Europe at the table,” one official said, explaining that Washington’s proposal was to bring European representatives into the discussions after the current trilateral round.

Witkoff and Kushner also want to accelerate the negotiating process, potentially leaving European governments and EU institutions limited time to agree on their representation.

The initiative would expand a negotiating format currently centered on Ukraine, Russia, and the US. European representatives are in Abu Dhabi for consultations with their partners, while the main negotiations remain trilateral.

European officials join consultations before the main talks

Ukraine’s delegation opened meetings with Western partners on Tuesday to coordinate positions ahead of negotiations with Moscow.

Representatives of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, and the European Commission joined the initial consultations, according to delegation leader Rustem Umerov. Witkoff and Kushner were also expected to participate.

Umerov said Ukraine’s priorities included ending hostilities, obtaining reliable postwar security guarantees, supporting economic recovery, and addressing humanitarian issues.

The two-day Abu Dhabi negotiations are the first trilateral round since February. The Ukrainian team is led by Umerov, while Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky heads Russia’s delegation.

Security guarantees, a possible ceasefire, and a wider postwar security arrangement are among the issues expected to feature in the discussions.

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Tuesday that trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi had begun and that a meeting with European representatives had also taken place. In a Telegram post following a call with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, he said Ukraine was working to make the negotiations productive.

“Ukraine and its partners are ready to work substantively toward de-escalation, effective security guarantees, and bringing real peace closer. Russia’s position needs to be the same,” Zelensky said.

The two presidents agreed to continue coordinating their efforts. Zelensky said he expected a detailed briefing later on Tuesday from Ukraine’s negotiating team and its partners on the discussions with Russia.

Europe faces a dispute over its representative

Washington’s push adds urgency to an existing disagreement over who should speak for Europe and how its governments should engage with Russia.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for a single European representative with a clear negotiating mandate, warning that overlapping diplomatic initiatives weaken the continent’s influence.

In a Thursday letter to European Council President António Costa, she argued that Europe risked becoming irrelevant unless leaders agreed on a coordinated approach.

Meloni questioned the relationship between recent meetings involving European governments, Ukraine, Washington, and NATO, alongside direct contacts with Moscow. Costa agreed to raise the issue with EU leaders while emphasizing the role of the bloc’s institutions.

EU leaders are expected to discuss representation at an informal summit in Dublin later this week.

The US officials cited by Politico welcomed the Oct. 27 telephone calls to Vladimir Putin by the leaders of Finland and Norway. They argued that more direct European discussions with Russia would allow governments to convey their positions themselves.

Wider security proposals raise concerns in Kyiv and Europe

The debate extends beyond participation in negotiations over Ukraine to Washington’s interest in a broader European security settlement.

President Donald Trump has promoted an expansive agreement involving Europe, while Kushner has outlined proposals covering regular security consultations, crisis communications, military transparency, and measures to reduce escalation risks.

European officials and Ukrainian leaders have expressed concern about the lack of detail surrounding those ideas. European partners have stressed that any new framework must complement NATO’s collective defense arrangements.

US officials told Politico that NATO would remain central to Europe’s collective defense, even as Washington seeks changes to the continent’s relationship with Russia.

For Kyiv, European involvement also concerns the guarantees intended to prevent another Russian attack. Zelensky has repeatedly argued that those commitments must clearly establish which partners would respond, what support they would provide, and how quickly they would act.