Kushner calls Ukraine and NATO security talks 'productive' ahead of Abu Dhabi round

Jared Kushner emerged from a round of high-stakes diplomacy on Thursday with warm words, saying his talks with Ukraine, NATO and European allies had been both productive and substantive. The US special envoy said the conversations covered security guarantees for Ukraine once the fighting with Russia stops, along with the wider question of European security. He told reporters the goal is finding practical solutions to end the war and lay the groundwork for a peace that holds.

Kushner framed the push as an all-sides effort, saying the Trump administration wants to address the security concerns of every party involved through agreements he described as practical rather than theoretical. The message was one of momentum: Washington has been in touch with both Kyiv and Moscow, and according to Kushner those conversations have produced serious proposals that could push the process forward.

The next step is already on the calendar. Kushner repeated that trilateral talks bringing together the United States, Ukraine and Russia will convene next week in Abu Dhabi. It marks the first time all three have been set to sit down together since the diplomatic scramble over a ceasefire picked up pace.

The security guarantees question is the thorny one. Ukraine has pressed for hard commitments from its allies before any truce takes hold, while Moscow has its own list of demands. Kushner's language stuck to the broad strokes, with no details on what those guarantees might look like or who would be on the hook for them.

European allies are watching closely, since any arrangement that reshapes Ukraine's security also reshapes their own. For now, the envoy is keeping the tone optimistic, signaling that Washington sees a deal within reach if the parties stay at the table. Abu Dhabi will be the test of whether that optimism survives contact with reality.