The Ukraine peace talks have taken a new turn, with Europe set to join the next round of negotiations and preparations under way for what could be the largest prisoner exchange since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. The developments followed a day of shuttle diplomacy by President Donald Trump’s envoys, who met Vladimir Putin in Moscow and then flew on to brief Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ireland.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Putin at the Kremlin on Thursday for about two hours, their tenth such meeting, before flying to Dublin for talks with Zelenskyy at Casement Aerodrome. Zelenskyy said the discussions produced three key outcomes, including preparations for a major prisoner exchange and a bigger European role in the negotiations. “First, a humanitarian outcome – prisoners will be released, and we are counting on the largest prisoner exchange since the start of this war,” he said in a post on X.
Europe Gets a Seat at the Table
Witkoff said the trilateral talks had restarted and a new meeting had been set, telling reporters at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport that progress had been made. Kushner described the Kremlin discussions as detailed and useful, saying both sides had now agreed to expand the next round of talks to include European partners. Zelenskyy said European representatives would have “an equal seat at the negotiating table”, a step Kyiv has long sought given its hopes of joining the European Union.
The agreement is not yet unanimous. Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov said the negotiating track would continue but gave no direct answer when asked whether Moscow backed a European role, saying Europeans “must decide whether they want peace or continued war”. European leaders meeting at a summit in Dublin were still discussing who should speak for the continent, whether a single negotiator or a group of states.
Prisoner Swap in Two to Three Weeks
The one concrete result of the week is the prisoner exchange. The deal was agreed in principle during two days of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, which ended without a breakthrough on ending the war. Russian military officials said the swap could happen within two to three weeks, and working groups from Kyiv, Moscow and Washington are now finalising the details. Kushner said the deal could bring thousands of people back to their families, though he gave no figure or timetable.
The hardest questions remain untouched. According to reports from the Moscow meeting, Putin still demands the four Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, rejects demilitarised zones, and has ruled out foreign peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, warning any foreign troops sent after a deal would be treated as “legitimate targets”. Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia said Kyiv hopes for an overall framework agreement before the end of 2026. Trump and Putin are also expected to speak at the APEC summit on November 18 and 19. Read our earlier report on the envoys’ arrival in Moscow here: https://reportrig.com/witkoff-and-kushner-land-in-moscow-for-putin-peace-talks/
