US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrive in Moscow for Ukraine peace talks

US President Donald Trump's special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday for the latest round of Ukraine peace talks, according to a Hindustan Times report. They were welcomed at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport by an envoy of the Russian President. The meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin focused on discussing the results of the talks held between Russian and Ukrainian delegations under US mediation. The envoys had previously participated in two-day negotiations in Abu Dhabi, UAE, which concluded on Wednesday with an agreement for a large-scale prisoner-of-war exchange, although no major, clear breakthrough was seen regarding ending hostilities.

After meeting Putin, Kushner stated that he and Witkoff would travel to Dublin, Ireland, to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian leader gave a lukewarm welcome to the results of the talks, terming the proposed prisoner exchange as a positive step. At the same time, he emphasized that Ukraine would not give up its territories occupied by Russia in exchange for peace. Expectations of any major success were low in this first meeting between the delegations in nine months amid hostilities that have been ongoing for nearly five years. Russia and Ukraine have periodically exchanged prisoners in the past as well, but there has been a wide gap in their demands for accepting a peace agreement.

For both countries, key obstacles besides post-war security arrangements include the future of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory and what role European countries will play in the final settlement. Moscow does not want European countries to be involved in direct negotiations. Kushner said one of the objectives of the Moscow meeting is to involve the Europeans in the talks. Kushner noted that both Ukraine and Russia need clarity on post-war security arrangements, and European countries, the UAE, and NATO will have to be involved in those discussions to build a consensus on the next steps.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that European representatives could eventually join the peace talks, but added that their current statements do not show any desire to contribute to moving toward peace. Moscow complains that Europe is providing money and weapons to Ukraine. Ukraine wants to ensure that Moscow does not attack again, and EU officials say that any discussion on Europe's security arrangements can only begin after a ceasefire.