The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of any agreement with the United States to include European countries in the talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Thus, Moscow cast doubt on the US announcement that Russia and Ukraine had approved European participation.
“As far as the Russian Foreign Ministry is aware, this issue was not discussed during the talks in Moscow with US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,” the ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
Witkoff and Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on November 12. After the talks, Witkoff said that Europeans would participate in the next meeting, while Kushner stated that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to expand the future format to include European partners. The Russian side, however, did not publicly confirm that it had made such a commitment. Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov also did not explicitly confirm the participation of a European delegation.
The US envoys arrived in Moscow after two days of talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi. At those meetings, European representatives held separate discussions with the United States and Ukraine but did not participate directly in the main format. According to US officials, the next stage should include Europe not only because of the war but also because of discussions about the continent’s future security.
The issue of European participation is sensitive, as European countries are providing military and financial support to Ukraine, while Moscow accuses them of being a party to the conflict. European leaders insist on having a direct say in decisions that will determine the continent’s security after the war ends.
After meeting with Putin, Witkoff and Kushner also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin. The US side presents Europe’s inclusion as a possible part of the next round of talks, but the Russian statement shows that there is still no publicly confirmed agreement between Moscow and Washington on the issue.
Sources: apnews.com, washingtonpost.com, theguardian.com