The US asks Russia to propose a new security agreement with Europe — media reveal details
Kyiv • UNN
The US has called on Russia to prepare a new proposal on European security with steps to reduce tensions. Europe's participation in negotiations remains contentious.
The United States has asked Russia to prepare a new proposal for a future security agreement with Europe that would include steps by the Russian Federation aimed at reducing tensions on the continent. Axios reports this, citing two informed sources, according to UNN.
Details
The Trump administration seeks to negotiate simultaneously on a new security architecture between Europe and Russia and a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. However, according to a source familiar with the White House's position, the implementation of security arrangements will be possible only after an agreement to end the war has been concluded.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said ahead of the talks in Abu Dhabi that Europe would discuss a new security architecture only after the war in Ukraine ends.
At the same time, according to two informed sources, European officials who were in Abu Dhabi this week agreed to work on both tracks in parallel. They emphasized, however, that final decisions on the architecture of European security would be made only after the war in Ukraine ends.
The United States hopes that involving European representatives in the peace talks will encourage their governments to discuss and agree on a broader security agreement more actively before the war ends.
"Zelensky will not agree to a deal until he knows what will happen next with the security guarantees; Putin also wants to know this. That is why the security issue is so important," the source said.
The source added that the United States had made it clear to European countries that it would not agree to a security agreement with Russia unless Europe and Ukraine supported it. In addition, according to the source, the United States would not grant Russia veto power over European security issues.
The publication notes that Russia has sought for many years to conclude a European security agreement that would limit NATO's expansion and provide for a reduction in the Alliance's military presence in Eastern Europe. The United States previously rejected these demands, but now appears ready to consider them in one form or another—as part of a broader agreement intended to end the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, many European governments view this approach by the U.S. administration with great suspicion.
On Thursday in Moscow, President Trump's representatives—Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff—will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to reiterate this request. According to a U.S. official, they also want Putin to allow representatives of European countries to join the next round of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks.
Witkoff and Kushner will meet with Putin in Moscow tomorrow morning11.11.26, 17:57 • 3394 views
After their visit to Moscow, Kushner and Witkoff are expected to travel to Dublin, where they will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday evening.
In addition
The talks held on Tuesday and Wednesday marked the first meeting in a long time (since February, when the dialogue was interrupted because of the war) between Ukrainian and Russian officials with the participation of American mediators.
Over the past few weeks, Witkoff and Kushner have held meetings with both Putin and Zelenskyy, giving the process some momentum.
The publication adds that Putin agreed to resume peace talks and release U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, whom Russia detained in 2022. In addition, Witkoff and Kushner—together with First Lady Melania Trump and her team—secured the establishment of a humanitarian ceasefire regime in the city of Oleshky.
Context
The talks in Abu Dhabi began on Tuesday; Witkoff, Kushner, and the commander of the U.S. Armed Forces' European Command, General Alexus Grynkewich, served as mediators between the Russian and Ukrainian sides.
The parties reached an agreement on a prisoner exchange. According to Kushner and Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia, this exchange could be the largest since the beginning of the war. U.S. and Ukrainian representatives said that the exact number of prisoners to be released would be determined during meetings involving Putin and Zelensky on Thursday.
Before the negotiations began and after they concluded, the American and Ukrainian negotiating teams briefed a delegation of high-ranking diplomats from Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the EU, and NATO.
According to a source present at the meeting, talks between the Russian and Ukrainian sides on Tuesday took place in a tense and at times emotional atmosphere. Both sides voiced their grievances, accumulated over the nine months without direct contact.
Kushner and Witkoff tried to ease the tension, explaining to the Russian and Ukrainian negotiators that the goal was to conclude this round of talks by preparing possible solutions for the leaders of both sides.
Ultimately, after each side presented its position, the discussion became more constructive, the source said.
"We had some fairly tough discussions," Kushner said at a press conference after the talks concluded on Wednesday.
"The Russians arrived with firm directives. It was very difficult to soften them, but in the end everything concluded productively," Arakhamia said.
The key topic of the talks in Abu Dhabi was the U.S. proposal to conclude an agreement on a new security architecture between Europe and Russia—as part of an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
According to two sources familiar with the course of the negotiations, the Russian side said that Putin had launched the invasion of Ukraine because then-President Biden had not responded to his 2021 letter outlining Russia’s security concerns.
According to one of the sources, Kushner and Witkoff responded to the Russians that the world had changed significantly since 2021.
They proposed that Russia prepare a new document that, in addition to its own security concerns and demands, would also specify what "symmetric steps" Russia was prepared to take to de-escalate and provide Europe with guarantees that it would not resort to attacks in the future.
In addition, Kushner and Witkoff emphasized to the Russians that, in order to seriously discuss security issues in Europe, it was necessary to agree to the participation of European representatives in future peace talks. "We told the Russians: they have their own wishes and concerns, but they must also propose other steps toward de-escalation and other initiatives if they want Europe to properly consider these proposals," Kushner said at the press conference.
However, the publication adds, Russia is currently unwilling to allow Europeans to participate in peace talks with Ukraine.
"As for the leadership of a number of European countries, they are essentially engaged in collective deception of the Ukrainian people and contributing to the mass death of civilians," Putin’s adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who headed the Russian delegation, said at a press conference after the talks. "Therefore, I do not understand what can be negotiated with them."
At the same time, Medinsky said that Russia sought to conclude a broader security agreement with Europe as part of arrangements to end the war.
"An abscess has simply burst in Ukraine. The entire organism must be treated—you cannot get by with a bandage here," he said.