Trump envoys to meet Putin in Moscow after latest Ukraine talks end with no breakthrough

President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner said Wednesday he and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would travel to Moscow after talks in Abu Dhabi to end the Ukraine war concluded with no clear breakthrough.

"Steve and I are going to travel to Moscow tomorrow to meet with President Putin to go over what was discussed today and to try to make more progress on some of the issues that we discussed because we see some openings and some opportunities there," Kushner said at a news conference in the UAE capital.

The announcement comes after two days of talks between Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators - the first of their kind since February - as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to end the nearly five-year conflict.

In recent weeks, Trump has announced significant concessions to Moscow, raising concern in European capitals that the US administration may try to force an end to the war on terms favorable to Russia.

Kushner said that he and Witkoff would work to finalize humanitarian relief and prisoner exchanges, as well as push to bring European countries into the talks - a multilateral format that Moscow has so far resisted.

The president's son-in-law - who acts as one of the country's top diplomats despite holding no official role within the Trump administration - said he and Witkoff would also travel to Dublin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and discuss proposals from the Abu Dhabi talks.

Key sticking points remain

Speaking about Wednesday's talks, which concluded after less than two hours, top Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky gave little indication that Moscow's demands had changed.

"In some areas, we reached a mutual understanding. In others, we did not. This conversation will, without a doubt, continue," Medinsky said.

Zelensky praised the US for organizing the talks, which he said resulted in an "important humanitarian agreement" on a new prisoner exchange.

"The parties discussed views on security guarantees, and the first step must be ending this war and ensuring Ukraine's security," Zelensky posted on Telegram. "We discussed broader formats for further work involving European partners."

Ukraine's foreign intelligence chief and top negotiator Rustem Umerov touted progress on certain issues, including security matters, but said "significant differences" remain.

Another Ukrainian negotiator, Davyd Arakhamia, said that Russia clearly came to the talks with "very strict directives."

"I'm in this process since 2022 and I can fairly say that this was one of the toughest ones," Arakhamia added.

Europe vies for seat at the table

European officials were also in Abu Dhabi this week attending separate talks with Ukrainian and US negotiators. Last week, Trump teased a new security deal for Ukraine that he said "might involve all of Europe" - a comment European officials seized on to reiterate their demand for a bigger role in peace talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the presence of European officials in the UAE city, saying their involvement was not a "promising approach."

When asked if there had been any contact between the Russians and any EU representatives in Abu Dhabi, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, "No such contacts were planned, and none took place."

But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Paris at a G7 meeting on Tuesday, said the US administration's goal was to expand future talks so that Europeans are "represented at that table directly."

Ukraine has long argued that Europe should be at the main negotiating table.

"We believe that Europe must be represented at all stages of substantive diplomacy," Zelensky said Wednesday.

CNN's Anna Chernova and Kosta Gak contributed reporting.