Key facts
- Putin met Kushner and Witkoff at the Kremlin on Thursday, November 12, 2026.
- Putin insisted on full control over four Ukrainian regions Moscow claims to have annexed.
- Putin ruled out foreign peacekeeping troops, calling such a deployment a 'continuation of war'.
- Witkoff said European representatives would join the next round of talks.
- Zelenskyy said Starshield has had 100mph speed limits along the frontline for several days.
Vladimir Putin told US negotiators at the Kremlin on Thursday, November 12, 2026, that Russia would target any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine, and refused to soften his territorial demands, insisting on full control over four Ukrainian regions Moscow claims to have annexed. Putin also ruled out accepting the deployment of foreign peacekeeping troops, describing such a move as a 'continuation of war', in remarks that appeared to dampen hopes of a peace deal before the end of 2026.
The meeting involved US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who have made numerous visits to Russia. The trip was partly aimed at securing European participation in future negotiations, according to two people familiar with the talks. Witkoff said European representatives would join the next round, telling reporters: 'They're our partners, and it's important for them to be involved.' The envoys will travel to Dublin, Ireland, to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy and brief him on the Moscow talks.
Zelenskyy had said there was a 'window of opportunity' to reach an agreement before the end of 2026. In Dublin, more than 45 European leaders are meeting for the European Political Community summit, a gathering that brings together nearly every country on the continent apart from the leaders of Belarus and Russia.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters: 'We already have a European security architecture in place', citing the cold war-era Helsinki accords and the Budapest memorandum, which guaranteed Ukraine's territorial integrity. She said the problem was that Russia was not keeping to those agreements and that focusing on a European security architecture was a 'distraction' without a ceasefire. Both Washington and Moscow have urged European leaders to appoint a single representative to lead negotiations; Putin said on Thursday that once a chief negotiator authorised to speak for Europe is appointed, 'there will be a four-way dialogue'. EU leaders are due to discuss the issue on Friday, but one EU official played down any imminent appointment, saying: 'Do I expect an agreement on a special representative? My answer is no I don't.' Kallas suggested she should represent the EU in talks, alongside António Costa, the president of the European Council.