Trump Envoys Help Putin Stall Ukraine Peace Talks

US Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner gave Russian President Vladimir Putin room to prolong peace negotiations over Ukraine by agreeing to Moscow’s longstanding demand to resolve all contentious issues simultaneously, Politico reported. Following consultations in Abu Dhabi and a Kremlin meeting with Putin, Kushner stated that the parties aimed to discuss all issues together and find a path toward simultaneous resolution. US President Donald Trump subsequently mentioned the possibility of reaching a broad agreement involving all of Europe.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. How did US envoys give Putin leverage to stall talks? According to Politico opinion editor Jamie Dettmer, accepting a single-package negotiation format upends traditional diplomatic sequencing – which prioritizes establishing a ceasefire and resolving smaller confidence-building steps first – and allows Moscow to avoid concrete decisions. Eugene Rumer, a former US National Intelligence Council official, told Politico that bundling all topics together has been a longstanding Russian objective designed to distract from Moscow’s war against Ukraine and complicate talks. Ukrainian officials warned that Moscow is using the format to delay a settlement. Lawmaker Mykola Kniazhytskyi of the European Solidarity Party told Politico that Putin is stalling for time to win a war of attrition while hoping European support fractures. Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK and former Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny has similarly cautioned that discussing all issues at once is a classic Soviet negotiating tactic used to exhaust opponents, comparing it to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s approach during the Syria talks between 2014 and 2017. Other Topics of Interest White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said on Friday that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have started working on the largest prisoner exchange of the war. Former US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker said assumptions that Putin is prepared for genuine compromise are mistaken. “Putin wants an empire, Ukrainians want freedom. The rest is a matter of details,” Volker said. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led Moscow’s delegation in Abu Dhabi as well as earlier talks in Istanbul in 2025, has maintained Russia’s core demands: non-bloc status for Ukraine, strict limits on the size and weaponry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), and international recognition of Russian occupation over Crimea and four eastern Ukrainian regions. Background of recent peace negotiations The criticism over negotiating formats follows trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the US in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11, which produced a framework agreement for a large-scale prisoner of war (POW) exchange despite yielding no breakthrough on territorial issues. On Nov. 12, Witkoff and Kushner met with Putin in Moscow for roughly 2.5 hours. Witkoff subsequently confirmed that a new round of multilateral peace talks – this time including European representatives – has been scheduled and could take place within the coming week. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov also stated on Nov. 12 that Putin and Trump plan to continue settlement discussions during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, on Nov. 18-19, alongside a proposed trilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders have repeatedly rejected any peace arrangements negotiated without Kyiv and Europe directly involved at the table. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.