Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Europe will be present at the table of the next negotiations on the war in Ukraine. This announcement comes as the conflict approaches its fifth anniversary, with no clear prospect of an agreement between Kyiv and Moscow.
According to the reported information, US envoy Jared Kushner believes that no agreement can succeed without the participation of Europeans. This view places the continent at the heart of a process that has so far been largely dominated by direct exchanges between Washington, Kyiv and Moscow. The next round of discussions is expected to bring together Russia and Ukraine, but the form European participation will take has not yet been specified, either in its format or its timetable.
On the Russian side, President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Moscow does not intend to give up its demands. This position currently limits the prospects for a rapid compromise, despite the announced expansion of the circle of negotiators. Signals sent by the Kremlin show that the two capitals are approaching these discussions with positions that remain far apart, leaving little room for a settlement in the short term.
The involvement of Europeans would represent a notable development in the way Western countries engage on the Ukrainian file. Until now, talks have mainly been conducted through bilateral channels and American mediation, while European capitals have supported Kyiv chiefly through military, financial and diplomatic aid. Being directly associated with the negotiations would therefore mark a change in the political and security role of the European Union, at a time when Ukraine's future remains central to debates about the stability of the continent.
The decision to place Europe at the table also responds to a practical question: Ukraine's future security, and any guarantees after a ceasefire, directly concern neighboring European countries and those providing a significant share of the support effort. Without this presence, an agreement negotiated between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington risks, according to the argument put forward by Jared Kushner, not being durably implementable.
The information available, published notably by La Croix and RFI as of Friday, November 13, 2026, does not yet indicate when these discussions will begin or under what arrangements Europeans will take part. The conflict, which has lasted since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, is entering its fifth year without an established diplomatic outcome, and each new stage of the talks is being closely watched by the capitals concerned.