Moscow (AFP) – US envoys arrived at the Kremlin on Thursday to meet with President Vladimir Putin after talks in Abu Dhabi on the war in Ukraine, with both Washington and Kyiv suggesting there was a window of opportunity for progress on ending Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. The envoys — US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and businessman Steve Witkoff — will fly to Dublin after meeting Putin to brief his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in the Irish capital to meet with European leaders. An AFP journalist saw the pair’s motorcade arrive at the Kremlin shortly after 1:00 pm (1000 GMT).
Kushner said the meeting with Putin would “go over what was discussed” during two days of talks this week in Abu Dhabi, and to seek progress “because we see some openings and some opportunities”. Arriving in Ireland late Wednesday, Zelensky also said there could be a “window of opportunity” to end the war with Russia before 2027. “What’s important is that the Americans flew to Putin with specifics. I would very much like them to return to Dublin with specifics,” he said, adding that while he was still sceptical “there is hope”.
European countries have been rattled by Russia pushing a review of the entire continent’s security architecture, with the US also floating a new framework. Some 50 European leaders are due to gather in the Irish capital Thursday, with the Abu Dhabi talks set to dominate the summit. EU officials say there appears to have been little genuine progress towards peace and are adamant that Europe sees no need to discuss its broader security arrangement with Moscow before fighting stops.
Following the Abu Dhabi talks, the warring sides agreed to a major prisoner exchange — the “biggest” ever, according to Kushner. Zelensky said it could involve 1,000 or 1,200 captured soldiers from each side. Both sides have said that talks will continue, but Russia has questioned the inclusion of Europe. “We don’t really understand what there is to talk about with them. We have not received a single peace initiative, not one concrete proposal from the European countries,” Russia’s delegation chief Vladimir Medinsky told reporters after the Abu Dhabi talks. Medinsky later told Russian TV that Moscow’s aim is a “new, modern Yalta” — referring to the 1945 conference in which Western leaders carved up Europe with the Soviet Union. Ukraine has warned against just that.
Kushner said seeking ways to “get the Europeans added to the format” would be on the agenda with Putin. Officials from Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as NATO and the European Union, traveled to Abu Dhabi for meetings on the sidelines.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022. Millions more have fled the fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine, large swathes of which have been destroyed by relentless aerial bombardments. Russia is demanding Kyiv withdraw from parts of eastern Ukraine it still controls and wants a sweeping deal on “Europe’s security architecture”. That is widely seen as a reference to Moscow’s long-standing demands to push back the NATO military alliance in eastern Europe and end Western military support to Kyiv. Kyiv says a ceasefire must come before any discussions on territory and has called for a direct meeting between Zelensky and Putin to discuss the biggest issues. Putin has ruled that out.
Kushner said the talks had helped, but declined to say on what issues the two sides might be able to agree. “Some areas we see places where we can find compromises, others we need to have more discussions, but I think this was a good first step,” he told reporters.
Overnight, Russian strikes hit a residential building in Kyiv, killing one person. In Putin’s home city of Saint Petersburg, a car bomb blast killed a Russian soldier — the latest in a string of apparent assassinations of military figures inside Russia. Zelensky also reported fresh restrictions had been placed on the Starshield satellite internet service, key to Ukraine’s front-line communications. Following a row with Trump last month over a deal to buy Russian diesel, Ukraine had reported days of interrupted service before operations were restored.
© 2024 AFP
