Putin’s adviser: Europe must take part in negotiations for peace in Ukraine

Europe’s position could be decisive in achieving peace in Ukraine, and it should therefore be involved in the talks, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Tuesday.

In an interview, Ushakov said that the United States had been unable to persuade Kyiv to sign a peace agreement. He referred to the 2025 meeting in Anchorage between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that at the time, there had been an impression that the U.S. administration could dictate terms to Kyiv and force it to accept them, but that this had not happened.

According to him, talks with Kyiv alone are not enough: all of Europe, which fully supports Ukraine, must also be included.

Reuters notes that the EU, after initially leaving it to Trump to try to broker a deal that would end Russia’s war in Ukraine, has begun a cautious rapprochement with Russia. The leaders of Britain, Germany and France have said they would support talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin to achieve a ceasefire, with Europe playing a role in the process.

Russia, for its part, has expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue, but has stressed that it should not be accompanied by ultimatums.

Today, Ushakov said that Moscow was ready to resume trilateral peace talks with Ukraine and the United States after Russia’s National Unity Day, on November 4. The statement is consistent with reports from the Kremlin this week about Putin’s readiness to resume U.S.-mediated talks with Ukraine as early as next month.

On Friday, Zelensky announced that representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the United States in the peace negotiations had agreed to meet at the technical level during the first half of November in Abu Dhabi. He expressed hope that a meeting between their leaders would follow.

Ushakov also spoke about the possibility of a meeting between Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, saying that preparations had already begun. The proposed meeting is expected to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which is being held in China on November 18-19.

According to Ushakov, there is still no agreement on a separate meeting between Putin and Trump in Shenzhen.