Moscow wants Europe at the table in Ukraine talks

Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Sunday that Europe should be involved in discussions on a peace deal for Ukraine, because its position could prove decisive. He made the comments in an interview with Pavel Zarubin, a correspondent for Russian state television.

Ushakov also said the United States had failed to get Kiev to accept a peace deal. This marks a shift from Moscow's earlier approach, which avoided bringing Europeans into the negotiations.

"In precedenza, dopo Anchorage, sembrava che l'amministrazione statunitense potesse dettare condizioni e costringere Kiev a conformarsi. Ma finora questo non ha funzionato" (previously, after Anchorage, it seemed the US administration could dictate terms and force Kiev to comply; but so far this has not worked), Ushakov said, referring to the 2025 meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He added that it was not enough to talk only to Kiev, since it was necessary to talk to the whole of Europe, which fully supports Ukraine.

Having initially left it to Trump to try to mediate an end to the war, the EU began cautiously approaching Russia. The leaders of Britain, Germany and France said they supported a proposal for talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin to try to secure a ceasefire, with Europe playing a role in the process.

Russia, for its part, has said it is open to dialogue but not to ultimatums. On Sunday Ushakov said Russia was ready to resume three-way peace talks with Ukraine and the United States after Russia's National Unity Day on 4 November. This echoed statements made by the Kremlin earlier in the week about Putin's readiness to resume US-mediated talks with Ukraine as early as next month.

On Friday, Zelensky said peace negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States had agreed to meet at technical level in the first half of November in Abu Dhabi, adding that he hoped a meeting between their leaders would follow.

A summit with China too

Ushakov also commented on a potential meeting between Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump, saying preparations had already begun. The proposed meeting would take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, due to be held in China on 18 and 19 November. No separate meeting between Putin and Trump in Shenzhen has been agreed for now.