Putin accepts Europe’s participation in talks on peace in Ukraine, but calls for clarification on the position of European allies

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the participation of European representatives in the next round of peace talks on Ukraine, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff announced Thursday after a meeting at the Kremlin. The decision is considered an important step, but the discussions remain difficult because of major differences between Moscow, Kyiv and European capitals.

Putin asked the United States to speak with its European allies to find out whether they want “peace or war” in Ukraine. The Russian leader said Moscow had never opposed dialogue with the European Union, but claimed that the Europeans were the ones who had cut off contacts with Russia.

Another point of tension is the possibility that European states could send troops to Ukraine after an agreement is concluded. Putin warned that Russia would regard such a presence as a threat and that it could lead to the resumption of the war.

At the talks in Abu Dhabi, the first direct Russian-Ukrainian discussions mediated by the United States in nine months, the parties agreed to a major prisoner exchange. Territorial issues, however, remained unresolved. Russia controls approximately one-fifth of Ukraine, while Kyiv refuses to cede the rest of the Donbas region.

Putin also proposed a joint Russian-Ukrainian humanitarian mission in Kostiantynivka, claiming that the city is controlled by Russia, a claim disputed by Kyiv. Moscow says it could remove the mines in five days, but Ukraine fears that such missions could be used to regroup Russian troops.