Putin agrees to let Europeans join next Ukraine talks, Kushner says

Talks in Abu Dhabi and Moscow

Russia and Ukraine held two days of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, 10 November, and Wednesday, 11 November, their first direct contact in more than eight months. European representatives were not part of the negotiations and only attended on the sidelines, with several European security advisers present, according to AP. On Thursday, 12 November, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Putin reaffirmed his territorial demands, while Kremlin adviser Juri Uschakow did not explicitly confirm that Europeans would take part in the next round.

Europe's seat at the table

Kushner announced overnight that Putin had agreed to include European partners in the next negotiating round, and said a timetable and further details would follow soon. Witkoff told Russian state television that Europeans would be present at the next meeting, which he described as a very important moment because they are partners. Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj, who met Witkoff and Kushner in Dublin, said Europeans should not merely sit on the sidelines but receive their own voice as part of the negotiating team, according to AP. Kushner also said significant differences remain, especially on territorial questions, though both sides' concerns had been better understood and progress made.

Who speaks for Europe

The United States and Ukraine want the Europeans to name a common representative for talks with Moscow, according to AP. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Europe must first appoint one. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pressed for a binding decision on who would represent the EU and with what mandate, according to dpa. Meloni and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden were open to EU Council President Antonio Costa taking on the role, though countries outside the EU, notably Britain, may not want to be represented by an EU figure. At the Dublin summit, around 40 European leaders showed no consensus on the question, and Costa said work would continue in different formats. Former US envoy Kurt Volker, in an interview with WELT, named Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte as possible options, while noting doubts in some southern European states and in the Baltic states and Poland.

Security charter adopted in Dublin

On Thursday, 12 November, 39 states adopted in Dublin a charter on key principles of European security, according to Spiegel Online and N-tv. The text, initiated by France and seen by AFP, refers to the UN Charter and to the NATO and EU treaties, and adds hybrid threats to the existing foundations of European security. Signatories commit to developing instruments to prevent and respond to destabilising actions below the threshold of an armed attack. They condemned Moscow's intensified hybrid campaigns in the strongest terms and pledged to counter information interference. According to N-tv, the declaration also says talks on risk reduction with Russia could only take place once peace in Europe has been restored. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland did not sign, and Bulgaria was the only EU member to refuse, without giving reasons.