Trump Envoys Press Putin in Moscow to Include Europe in Peace Talks

OPA WIRE, Nov 12 (OPA) — U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Moscow on Thursday to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring European nations into negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine. The visit follows the delegation's mediation of peace talks in Abu Dhabi between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, marking the first direct contact between the warring sides in nine months. Following their meeting at the Kremlin, the envoys scheduled travel to Dublin to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The diplomatic push comes as the Kremlin maintains a hardline stance, demanding broader structural overhauls to European security arrangements before considering any cease-fire. Russian officials have signaled that they will not halt military operations until these wider geopolitical demands are formally addressed, complicating the administration's push for a swift foreign policy breakthrough.

The Trump administration is aggressively pursuing a diplomatic resolution following the Republican party's setbacks in the midterm elections. However, Moscow continues its military campaigns, intensifying strikes against Ukrainian urban centers ahead of an expected winter bombing campaign. These operations have heavily exploited Ukraine's ongoing shortages of advanced air defense systems.

Amid the diplomatic maneuvering, operational friction persists on the battlefield. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Thursday that armed forces faced renewed restrictions on Starshield, the military application of the Starlink satellite internet network, prompting requests for clarification from U.S. officials. Witkoff and Kushner's discussions in Dublin will focus on bridging the gap between Moscow's expansive security demands and Kyiv's sovereignty requirements.