U.S., Ukraine say Europe to join Russia talks as Putin sticks to hardline stance

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said Thursday (November 12, 2026) Europe would join the next round of talks with Russia, as Vladimir Putin indicated Moscow will not compromise on its hardline demands to end almost five years of war.

In a packed day of shuttle diplomacy following negotiations in Abu Dhabi, Mr. Kushner and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff held over four hours of talks with Mr. Putin in the Kremlin before jetting to debrief Mr. Zelenskyy in Dublin.

As they spoke to journalists on the tarmac of a military airbase in Ireland, the main piece of progress touted by the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump's representative was that European negotiators would be at the table for future talks.

Mr. Zelenskyy said Europeans will take part rather than remain "separately" on the sidelines as they were in Abu Dhabi, insisting: "They will have a voice". Mr. Kushner later reiterated the sentiment in a post on X, writing: "Both sides have now agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include our European partners." "Significant differences remain, but we are encouraged by the progress made," he posted, adding that the schedule and details on the negotiating track would be released "shortly".

An EU official told AFP representatives of five European capitals as well as the European Commission that the U.S. envoys, and that a new multilateral meeting "will be fixed soon". The Kremlin did not confirm Mr. Putin had agreed to include Europe in future talks, which Kyiv and its allies have long been seeking.

Instead, the Russian leader had earlier told the U.S. duo he would not water down demands to control parts of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed and ruled out agreeing to foreign peacekeeping troops in Ukraine -- a deployment he said would be a "continuation of war".

Mr. Putin's comments appeared to douse hopes a peace deal could be getting nearer. As the United States has pushed for Europe to be allowed at the table, Moscow has sought to reframe talks as part of a wider discussion about European security.

Kyiv and European leaders have insisted there is no need to rewrite the arrangements underpinning the continent's security, and said Russia must first stop hostilities. In the Irish capital for a summit of European leaders, Mr.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said fresh restrictions on the Starshield satellite internet service were hampering Ukraine's ability to intercept Russia's jet-drones, meaning "more of our people are killed". Usually held behind closed doors, the Kremlin chose to televise a lengthy opening exchange between Putin and the U.S.

envoys. The Russian leader rejected talk of a possible territorial settlement involving "grey" -- or demilitarised -- zones between Ukrainian and Russian positions. "For us, there is only one line of demarcation: the state border.

Because then it will be clear: here are we, and here are you," he said. Russia has seized swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine since launching its full-scale offensive in 2022, in addition to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and territory that was under the control of Russian-backed separatists.

Moscow has formally annexed four Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia -- despite not having full control over them, annexations rejected by Kyiv and the West as illegal.