US Envoys Meet Putin in Moscow After Ukraine Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi

OPA WIRE, Nov 12 (OPA) — US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday following a round of discussions aimed at ending the war in Ukraine wrapped up in Abu Dhabi. The pair departed for Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while Witkoff confirmed that a new round of trilateral talks had been agreed upon with Putin, with European participation anticipated.

Simultaneously, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Ukraine's military was facing systematic restrictions to Starlink's military-grade satellite service, Starshield, which he said hampered efforts to intercept Russian drones. Zelensky criticized the American approach to negotiating European security architecture directly with Russia, stating that treating Ukrainian territory as if it is not Ukrainian signals a troubling direction for the talks.

During the Kremlin meetings, the territorial issue remained a core point of contention. President Putin reiterated that Moscow recognizes only the state border as the line of demarcation and proposed a five-day humanitarian truce for the contested frontline city of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmitry Lytvyn disputed the proposal, noting that similar ceasefires have been used by Russian forces to rotate troops and bring in equipment.

The discussions have heavily centered on post-war European security arrangements. Kushner stated that the US hopes to create a new framework of security between Ukraine, Russia, and Europe to secure lasting peace. However, European officials and analysts have expressed concern that the US has accommodated Russian demands to revise European security architecture and limit NATO presence on the eastern flank without adequate European representation.