Kushner Goes All In On Getting Europe A Seat At Peace Table, After Moscow's Nyet
Washington is going all in on trying to get EU representation at the peace talks table with Russia and Ukraine. It would mean the current trilateral talk program becomes multilateral, and this is somewhat surprising as it hasn't been a Trump adminisration priority before now.
"Both sides have now agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include our European partners," US special envoy Jared Kushner said from Dublin. However, it's clear that Moscow has not yet publicly agreed to this, and in fact has repeatedly publicly rejected the possibility.
Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ireland just after their latest Kremlin visit Thursday. The three addressed the media after meeting at a military base near Dublin.
Zelensky has insisted that Europe must have a "voice" during ongoing and future talks and that it would not be kept "separately" on the sidelines - as happened in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
EU leaders have long been more hawkish in their support to Kyiv, while the Trump White House has appeared to back off its intensity of assistance, while pressuring Zelensky to halt drone strikes on Russian oil facilities.
"This is important for us because the war is in Europe. We will be member of EU in the future and that's why it's very important. For prosperity and for security guarantees it's very important to have Europe," Zelensky said of EU representation.
Kushner on X meanwhile newly declared: "Both sides have now agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include our European partners."
"This will allow us to address the broader postwar European security arrangements alongside the territorial issues between Ukraine and Russia," he wrote.
And yet, as of Friday morning the Kremlin is sticking by its rejection:
In comments shared by the Russian foreign ministry on Friday morning, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said: "For our part, the position of the Europeans has been comprehensively outlined. They are striving by every means possible to join the negotiations, but, as our President has said, they must decide whether they want peace or the continuation of the war."
While the comments are tough and somewhat threatening, they possibly leave open the slightest window for allowing the Europeans to join. Presumably this would be based on some kind of EU overture to Russia, such as what the Trump admin has done with granting the sanctions waiver on Russian diesel exports.
Zelensky certainly doesn't look as enthusiastic about the state of things...
It remains that for Russia, any peace deal must be a "longterm settlement" - which means nothing less than full political recognition over the four eastern terrirtories and of course Crimea. EU reps are going to fight against this tooth and nail.
Zelensky has consistently rejected the prospected of a major land swap. He's lobbied the EU and NATO to keep up Kiev's maximal demands.