Abu Dhabi [UAE], November 12 : Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, disclosed on Wednesday that he and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would travel to Moscow following a round of talks in Abu Dhabi intended to broker an end to the Ukraine war, which concluded with no clear breakthrough, according to CNN.
"Steve and I are going to travel to Moscow tomorrow to meet with President Putin to go over what was discussed today and to try to make more progress on some of the issues that we discussed because we see some openings and some opportunities there," Kushner stated during a news conference in the Emirati capital.
The high-stakes diplomatic movement follows two days of talks featuring delegations of Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators, representing the inaugural direct contact of this nature since February, as the Washington administration fast-tracks initiatives to resolve the nearly five-year conflict.
Over recent weeks, President Trump has tabled significant concessions to Moscow, inciting profound anxiety across European capitals that the White House may attempt to force an end to the war on terms unduly favourable to the Kremlin, according to CNN.
Kushner noted that he and Witkoff would concentrate on finalising humanitarian relief and prisoner exchanges, while simultaneously pushing to integrate European states into the diplomatic track, pursuing talks, a multilateral format that Moscow has consistently resisted.
Operating without an official bureaucratic title while fulfilling a prominent diplomatic brief, Kushner confirmed that he and Witkoff would subsequently meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin to travel and discuss proposals emerging from the Abu Dhabi talks.
Assessing Wednesday’s talks, which concluded after a brief duration, senior Russian envoy Vladimir Medinsky indicated that Moscow’s baseline demands remained entirely unchanged.
"In some areas, we reached a mutual understanding. In others, we did not. This conversation will, without a doubt, continue," Medinsky remarked.
Concurrently, Ukrainian delegates reported incremental headway on specific humanitarian dimensions, though senior negotiator Rustem Umerov touted progress while cautioning that fundamental divergences persisted between the warring sides, as highlighted by CNN.
European delegations maintained a parallel presence in the UAE capital to engage in separate talks alongside Ukrainian and American counterparts.
Last week, President Trump publicly teased a new security deal encompassing European architecture, prompting continental leaders to reiterate demands for formal participation in ongoing peace talks.
Reaffirming this position during diplomatic consultations at a G7 meeting earlier in the week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasised that Washington's strategic objective remained broadening future talks to guarantee European allies secured a permanent seat at the main negotiating table, according to CNN.