After U.S. Envoys Meet Putin, Europe to Join Next Ukraine Round as Largest-Ever Prisoner Exchange Is Pursued
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, then flew to Dublin, Ireland, to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the outcome. The two said European representatives would join the next round directly, and Russia and Ukraine are pursuing the largest prisoner exchange since the war began.
Witkoff serves as U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy in charge of Ukraine negotiations. Kushner is Trump’s son-in-law and close aide who, according to CNN, holds no official position in the administration but carries out a major diplomatic role for the United States.
The mediation began with two days of talks in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Russian and Ukrainian delegations met directly Nov. 10 and 11 under U.S. mediation, the first direct talks in nine months, the Associated Press reported. The talks produced no breakthrough on a ceasefire, territory or security guarantees.
The only concrete outcome of the talks was an agreement on a prisoner exchange. The two sides agreed in principle to a large exchange, and Kushner said it would be the largest humanitarian prisoner release of the war. Zelenskyy also called it the largest exchange since the war began and a real result.
The size of the exchange has not been finalized. Zelenskyy raised the possibility of an exchange of 1,000 to 1,200 people per side. Russia’s Tass news agency, citing Russian Gen. Alexander Zorin, reported it would involve more than 1,000 people per side. A Russian official said the exchange could take place within two to three weeks. The most recent exchange took place Oct. 23, when 270 people returned to Ukraine.
European participation is another advance in the diplomacy. Kushner said in a post on X on Thursday that both sides agreed to expand the next round to include European partners. He said the deal cannot be concluded without Europeans at the negotiating table. Zelenskyy also said European representatives would sit at the table as equals.
The United States and Ukraine want Europe to name a single negotiator to deal with Moscow. As of Friday, however, no European leader had publicly named a representative, CNN reported. Who will take Europe’s seat has not been decided.
The Kremlin gave no firm answer on European participation. Putin said at the Moscow meeting that Russia has never opposed dialogue with Europe. He repeated, however, that the deployment of European troops in Ukraine after a ceasefire would be absolutely unacceptable and that Russia would treat them as legitimate targets.
Witkoff told a CNN reporter at Moscow airport that progress had been made, trilateral talks had resumed and the next meeting had been scheduled. He did not give a date or a place. Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Trump would continue their discussions at a bilateral meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China.
The war is now in its fifth year. The prisoner exchange has been discussed as a humanitarian step that could build trust between the two sides, but disagreements over territory and security guarantees remain.
