Kushner Says He Is Working to Bring Europe and Russia Into Direct Ukraine Talks

US envoy Jared Kushner has said he is working with Russia, Ukraine and European governments to advance peace talks, with direct engagement between Europe and Moscow part of the plan for the next stage.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Kushner said "both sides" understand that ending the war will require compromises, adding that he and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff are now focused on the next steps in the process.

His remarks came days after peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday ended without a breakthrough on ending the war, though the discussions did produce a prisoner exchange between the warring sides.

The possibility of Europe taking a formal role in the negotiations has gained momentum in recent weeks. On Friday, leaders agreed that five European countries would send representatives to speak for the bloc at future rounds of talks.

Those five countries are the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Poland, the same nations that have signalled readiness to deploy troops as part of a "coalition of the willing" to help secure Ukraine if a ceasefire is reached.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that it is impossible to think about European security "without Europe". The Kremlin, for its part, has indicated it is open to negotiating with Europe, while criticising the bloc for a lack of concrete proposals.

In a lengthy post on X on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron argued that Europe must "state clearly" what it wants for the post-war period, "including to the Russians". He also said Ukraine, which fields Europe's largest conventional army, should play a central role in the continent's post-war order alongside NATO, describing the alliance as a "place where it fully belongs".

Zelenskyy revealed on Friday that during the Abu Dhabi talks, US negotiators asked whether Ukraine would consider withdrawing its forces from the eastern Donbas region in exchange for membership in NATO.

Even as diplomacy continues, the war shows no sign of abating. Leaks in November from Russia's official statistics agency indicated that the conflict has so far cost the lives of at least 450,000 Russian soldiers.