Trump meets Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House - The Straits Times

Special Envoy of the President of Russia for Investment and Economic Cooperation Kirill Dmitriev speaks after a meeting with representatives from Russia and Ukraine.

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said he met Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House but did not visit with Ukrainian representatives.

Speaking to reporters on Nov 5 in the Oval Office, Trump predicted there would be a “big agreement” that is “going to involve more than Ukraine” and “might involve all of Europe”, without elaborating.

The President vowed he would end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on his first day in office.

The conflict, now in its fifth year, has persisted despite multiple attempts by Trump and his representatives to broker a deal.

First Lady Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian representatives at the White House earlier on Nov 5 for a ceremony marking a short-lived local ceasefire in Ukraine. Dmitriev was part of the Russian delegation.

The Trump administration has in recent weeks ramped up efforts to broker an end to the war, with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff leading those discussions.

Kushner said in a post on X that the US earlier on Nov 5 held “productive and substantive discussions with Ukraine, NATO, and our European partners” in Brussels.

He said the talks touched on “security guarantees for Ukraine and a broader European security architecture”.

“Our objective is to address the security concerns of all sides through practical, mutually agreed arrangements that reduce the risk of future conflict,” he added.

The meetings in Brussels come ahead of two days of US-led talks with delegations from Ukraine and Russia set for next week in Abu Dhabi.

Trump has cast Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the biggest obstacle to peace, pushing concessions that Kyiv sees as untenable.

Security guarantees to ensure that Russia does not attack Ukraine again following any peace deal have been a major sticking point in talks to bring the conflict to an end. BLOOMBERG