The United States is facilitating direct engagement between Russia and European countries as part of efforts to secure a peace deal in Ukraine, Donald Trump’s special envoy Jared Kushner has said.
Mr Kushner and Steve Witkoff held separate meetings with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week, as the Trump administration seeks to end the conflict, which has lasted more than four and a half years.
The meetings followed the first US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine since February. Those discussions ended with plans for a new prisoner exchange and further negotiations, but no indication of a broader peace agreement.
“Our focus is now on facilitating direct engagement between Moscow and European partners and preparing the agenda for the next round of trilateral talks,” Mr Kushner said. “Several new ideas emerged from these discussions and are now being explored. Some may lead to breakthroughs directly, while others may evolve into new proposals that help bridge the remaining gaps.”
Mr Zelenskyy said the US had raised the prospect of a new security framework for Europe, but warned that Moscow could use the discussions to weaken Nato and seek to redraw the continent’s borders.
“In my view, this can be dangerous,” he told reporters, referring to the proposed framework. “This should not be the main agenda.”
He said Washington had also asked for the first time whether Ukraine would withdraw from parts of the Donbas region that are not controlled by Russia if Kyiv were admitted to Nato. Mr Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not surrender its territory.
The Ukrainian president said he believed Moscow was seeking to reopen wider questions about European security, rather than focusing solely on ending the war.
“Putin’s desire to change borders in Europe is a fact. I am sure this is part of his concept of revising security guarantees in Europe,” he said. “This is dangerous because, in my view, it is precisely things like this that lead to wars or escalations.”
European leaders have said decisions about the continent’s security must be taken by Europeans, warning against allowing Russia to determine the terms of a new security order or dictate Nato’s future.
Ukraine is discussing a wider security package with its partners, Mr Zelenskyy said. It could include specific guarantees from Nato and the European Union, a strong Ukrainian military, financial support for a defined period and a reconstruction plan.
“If the American side confirms precisely this to us, together with other NATO partners, then I will ask our Ukrainian society what it thinks: Do we accept it or not?” he said.
Any agreement, he added, would not recognise occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian. He also rejected neutrality, saying it would require an amendment to Ukraine’s constitution.
“If Putin expects Ukraine’s neutrality to be enshrined, that’s not going to happen,” Mr Zelenskyy said. “We’re not in NATO right now anyway.”
Mr Kushner said a lasting settlement would require security guarantees for Kyiv and “detailed, actionable postwar security arrangements that reduce the risk of another war”.
“NATO will remain a critical pillar of European security, enhanced by stronger mechanisms for military, communication, deconfliction, and reciprocal de-escalation, with practical ways to address disputes before they become crises,” he said.
Mr Zelenskyy warned that wider talks on European security could give Mr Putin an opportunity to seek changes to Nato’s military presence, including the withdrawal of US troops.
He said the Russian president had raised similar proposals with Joe Biden in 2021, seeking what he described as a redistribution of power in Europe and across the world. Mr Zelenskyy said Moscow could raise questions involving Finland, Sweden, Hungary and the presence of American troops in the Baltic countries.
Any changes to Europe’s security arrangements, he said, should be decided by European Nato members only after the war has ended.
“The sequence should be as follows: a ceasefire, an end to the war in Ukraine, and security guarantees for Ukraine,” Mr Zelenskyy said. “There can be no security guarantees in Europe, or for Europe, without Ukraine.”
Mr Trump is due to meet Mr Putin next week as part of a trilateral summit with China’s president, Xi Jinping. Officials said he is not expected to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine at that meeting.
