US envoy Kushner says he aims to broker Europe-Russia talks on Ukraine

US envoy Jared Kushner has said he is working with Russia, Ukraine and Europe to move peace talks to the next stage, including facilitating direct engagement between Europe and Moscow. Kushner told reporters Saturday that “both sides” know that compromises will be necessary to end the war, and that he and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff were now working on next steps.

Trump son-in-law’s comments follow peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday that failed to reach a breakthrough on ending the war, but resulted in a prisoner exchange . The prospect of Europe’s involvement in the talks has grown in recent weeks, with leaders agreeing on Friday to send five representatives of European countries to represent the bloc at future peace talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he did not think it was possible to think about European security “without Europe”. The Kremlin has signalled an openness to negotiations with Europe, but it has criticised a lack of proposals from the bloc.