Putin lets Europe join Ukraine peace talks, Zelenskiy welcomes prospect of European participation

President Vladimir Putin agreed on Thursday to let European representatives join the next round of Ukraine peace talks, a US envoy said, though the Russian leader said Washington must work with its European allies to understand if ​they want peace or war in Ukraine.

The move to give Europe a seat at the negotiating table at the next round of talks, which US envoy Steve Witkoff announced after the talks, could mark a ‌breakthrough. But Putin's comments underlined how difficult the negotiations could become, given sharp differences between Moscow and European capitals over the way the war should end.

"The Europeans will join at the next meeting, which we consider to be a very important moment because they are our partners and it's important to us that they take part," Witkoff told Russian state TV after meeting Putin in the Kremlin.

Witkoff and fellow US presidential envoy Jared Kushner later flew to Ireland and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said he was pleased at the prospect of further sets of talks and European participation ​in them.

There were, however, signs of renewed tensions, with Zelenskiy saying new restrictions were affecting the US-made satellite communications Kyiv uses on the battlefield, and that he found the US approach of discussing a new European security order with Russia "a ​bit strange".

During the Kremlin talks, Kushner told Putin that Washington had detected what he called "a big change" on the European side and was confident that expanding peace talks to include ⁠the Europeans would not hinder progress.

Putin said Moscow had always been open to talking to the EU about Ukraine, but signalled serious outstanding differences.

"As far as the Europeans are concerned, we have never been opposed to engaging in dialogue with Europe, and we ​have never broken off that dialogue. It was they who broke off the dialogue with the Russian Federation," he said.

He then warned that the European idea of sending Western troops into Ukraine once a peace deal was concluded would trigger a resumption of the ​war because Russia would see that as a threat to its own security.

"We would very much like you, gentlemen, and the US administration as a whole, to work with your European allies so that they can finally make up their minds as to what they want: peace or war in Ukraine," said Putin.