U.S. facilitating direct engagement between Europe and Russia

President Trump's special envoy, Jared Kushner, is working to facilitate direct discussions between Russia and Europe as part of efforts to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Kushner and Steve Witkoff have met separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in recent weeks. After the first round of U.S.-brokered talks concluded earlier this week, Kushner emphasized that the focus now is on fostering direct communication between Moscow and European partners.

Several new ideas were discussed, which could potentially lead to breakthroughs or new proposals. However, Zelenskyy cautioned that any new security framework proposed by the U.S. could be used by Russia to weaken NATO and alter the continent's borders. Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine would not cede any territory to NATO, despite the U.S. inquiring about Kyiv's willingness to withdraw from certain parts of the Donbas region.

Zelenskyy also warned that any modifications to Europe's security arrangements should be decided by European NATO members alone after the war concludes. Trump is scheduled to meet with Putin next week in a trilateral summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, though it is unlikely that Russia's war in Ukraine will be discussed.