U.S. envoys will travel to Moscow Thursday to meet with President Vladimir Putin following two days of U.S.-mediated peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Abu Dhabi.
The countries agreed to a major prisoner exchange, described as the "biggest" ever by U.S. envoy Jared Kushner, without either side providing figures. But the two sides remain split over Europe's role in future talks.
The talks in Abu Dhabi, the first since February when Russia's war in Ukraine halted diplomacy, yielded little else of substance, though all sides praised progress and committed to continued discussions.
After visiting Moscow, Kushner and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Dublin, host of European summits this week, to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Kushner said the meeting with Putin would "review today's discussions and seek further progress on discussed issues, citing potential openings."
With Zelenskyy, the pair will "further explore some of the ideas developed today," he told reporters after two days of talks.
Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said he saw "good momentum" after the discussions, but there were "issues that we cannot disclose at the moment."
Deadly Russian attacks in Ukraine continued during the talks, but its lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told reporters the "discussion will certainly continue."
But he questioned including Europe in the talks.
"We do not understand what there is to talk about with them. We have not received a single peace initiative or a single concrete proposal from the European countries," he said after the talks.
Ukraine wants more involvement from its key European backers.
Kushner said adding Europeans to the format would be on the agenda for talks with Putin.
Officials from Britain, France, Germany and Italy, as well as representatives from NATO and the EU, traveled to Abu Dhabi for sideline meetings.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed since Russia invaded in February 2022, in what has become Europe's worst conflict since World War II. Millions more have fled the fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine, large swaths of which have been destroyed by relentless aerial bombardments.
Russia is demanding Ukraine withdraw from parts of eastern Ukraine it still controls and wants a sweeping deal on "Europe's security architecture" as part of any agreement to halt the war.
This is widely viewed as a reference to Moscow's long-standing demands to push back the NATO alliance in Eastern Europe and end Western military support to Kyiv.
Kyiv says a cease-fire must come before any discussions on territory and has called for a direct meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin to discuss the biggest issues.
Putin has ruled that out. The Kremlin reportedly invited Zelenskyy to Moscow if he wants to meet the former KGB agent.
Kushner said the talks had helped, but declined to say in what areas the two sides may be able to agree.
"Some areas we see places where we can find compromises, others we need to have more discussions, but I think this was a good first step," he told reporters.
He also urged Europe to "identify one person to speak on their behalf" in the negotiations.
Europe has been rattled by President Donald Trump's proposal for a deal with Russia on rewriting European postwar security, amid concerns that Washington will force Kyiv to accept a peace that heavily rewards Moscow.
Kushner Tuesday said the United States hoped to "create a new framework" for security among Ukraine, Russia and Europe that will secure "decades, if not centuries, of peace."
Ukraine has insisted Russia end hostilities, before any discussion on a future security arrangement for Europe, and warned against a "Yalta 2.0" carving up of the continent.
A Russian delegation source said that settling the war was "merely one item on the agenda," and that Moscow's main objective was reviewing security "for the entire continent."
In a joint statement, the Europeans, Ukraine, the United States and NATO reaffirmed their "shared commitment to a strong postwar European security architecture."
Kyiv has also pushed for postwar military support.
A senior Ukrainian source told AFP Ukraine wanted at least 10 years of financial support to sustain an 800,000-strong army capable of defending against future Russian attacks.
President Donald Trump hinted before the talks that Kyiv might have to give up land, saying: "They're going to end up with a little bit different shape."