US Pursues Major Russia-Ukraine Prisoner Exchange as Peace Talks Expand
Jared Kushner said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to include European nations in their next talks as Washington seeks what could be the war's largest prisoner exchange.
By Julian Schulz ·
Washington is working toward a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine that could bring thousands of people back to their families, Jared Kushner said on Thursday. The envoy and son-in-law of US President Donald Trump also said the two countries had agreed to bring European nations into the next round of peace negotiations.
In a statement on X/Twitter, Kushner described the potential exchange as what would be the largest of the war. He provided no details of the proposed arrangement. His comments came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the prospect of European participation in the US-brokered talks and expressed hope that the agenda would address ceasefires and efforts to ease the conflict.
Kushner said including European partners would broaden the negotiations to cover security arrangements for Europe after the war, alongside the territorial disputes between Russia and Ukraine. He said Washington was encouraged by the progress so far, while acknowledging that substantial disagreements continued to separate the sides.
Zelensky spoke after discussions with Kushner and fellow US envoy Steve Witkoff. He emphasized the importance of restarting the negotiating process following talks held in Abu Dhabi earlier in the week. That round was the first in nine months, and Zelensky welcomed the news that European representatives would attend the next session.
Witkoff had earlier said Russian President Vladimir Putin consented to European representatives taking part in the next talks. Putin also called on Washington to engage with its European allies to determine whether they wanted peace or war in Ukraine. During their diplomatic travel, Kushner and Witkoff met Putin in Moscow and Zelensky in Dublin.
Setting out conditions for a durable end to the fighting, Kushner pointed to the need for credible security guarantees. He also called for reciprocal commitments to de-escalation, saying these were necessary to lower the danger of another conflict.
Both Kyiv and Moscow reported some progress but said major differences persisted, particularly over territory. Russia controls a fifth of Ukraine, while Kyiv rejects surrendering the remainder of its eastern Donbas region.
Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Trump promised to bring the war to an end when he returned to the White House, but has yet to secure an agreement.
