Kremlin says European participation would hinder Ukraine talks

MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman indicated Tuesday that the Kremlin opposes European participation in talks on ending the conflict in Ukraine based on a U.S. plan.

"The participation of the Europeans, in terms of acceptability, does not bode well," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Peskov also said that the Kremlin had not yet been informed of the results of the latest talks in Berlin on Monday between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders.

U.S. President Donald Trump joined the talks by video and afterwards insisted that a deal to end hostilities was closer and that Washington had offered Kyiv NATO-like security guarantees that Russia could accept.

Peskov said the Kremlin would have to find out the details of the meeting before it could take part in new talks.

Zelensky said after the talks with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that "progress" had been made though territory to be ceded by Ukraine remained a sticking point.

Details of the latest U.S. plan have not been released.

The Europeans, who back Ukraine, have made a parallel proposal that would involve deploying a multinational force in Ukraine, security guarantees and allowing an 800,000 strong Ukrainian army, according to a joint statement released after the Berlin talks.

Most of these elements have already been rejected by the Kremlin, however.