Zelensky meets with Trump's envoys in Dublin after their summit with Putin

Detailed summary

In a briefing alongside Witkoff and Kushner after the meeting, Zelensky told reporters that Europe would be represented in the next round of peace talks and that the upcoming Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange would be the largest swap yet.

President Volodymyr Zelensky sat down with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Dublin the evening of Nov. 12, shortly after the envoys' visit to Moscow.

The meeting came a day after U.S.-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi, which closed on Nov. 11 with no major breakthrough. Witkoff and Kushner then traveled to the Kremlin to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The pair then visited Zelensky in Ireland, where he was attending the European Political Community (EPC) summit.

Zelensky's conversation with Witkoff and Kushner took place at Casement Aerodrome, a military base located in Baldonnel, west of Dublin. Published photos of the meeting show that Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's leading negotiator and foreign intelligence chief, was also present at the talks.

In a briefing alongside both envoys after the meeting, Zelensky told reporters that Europe would be represented in the next round of peace talks and that the upcoming Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange would be the largest swap yet.

"It will be the biggest, Steve and Jared told me, the biggest exchange of war prisoners yet," Zelensky said.

The president also confirmed that Europe would take part in future peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.

"Next time, next meeting, Europe...will be in the negotiating team," he said, clarifying that European representatives would be taking part directly and not holding separate talks.

"They will have a voice. This is important to us, because the war is in Europe," Zelensky said.

Kushner told reporters that the meeting with Zelensky was "a very good discussion" and that their talks with Putin had also been "very detailed and productive." The envoy confirmed that Putin agreed to allow Europe to participate in negotiations regarding ending the war in Ukraine.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Kyiv Independent. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.