On Tuesday, US envoy Jared Kushner called for the establishment of a new security framework for Ukraine, Russia and Europe to ensure peace, with the launch of talks between Moscow and Kiev sponsored by Washington, hosted by Abu Dhabi, with the aim of putting an end to the war that has been going on for more than four years.
The talks are being held behind closed doors, away from the media. The Russian delegation is headed by Russian Presidential Assistant Vladimir Medinsky, while the Ukrainian delegation is led by the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Rustam Umarov.
Kushner said, "I hope that today will not be limited to discussing bilateral issues between the two countries and how to put an end to the war... but also how we can establish correct security relations between Ukraine, Russia, and Europe in order to establish a new framework and not just end the war," to ensure "decades, if not centuries, of peace."
Representatives of the United States and the European parties announced in a joint statement on Tuesday, on the sidelines of discussions between Russia and Ukraine, their commitment to a strong European security structure after the war, stressing that any agreement should guarantee the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The statement issued by the representatives of the United States, Ukraine and the European parties said: “The participants affirmed their shared commitment to a strong post-war European security architecture and arrangements, and were clear that a strong NATO will remain essential for common Euro-Atlantic defence.”
For his part, the Supreme Commander of NATO forces in Europe, General Alexus Grinkevich, said that the ongoing talks in Abu Dhabi regarding Ukraine represent an opportunity to reach a lasting peace, expressing his aspiration to work with both sides to advance the progress achieved in previous negotiations.
The chief negotiator for Kiev, Rustam Umarov, said on social media, “The first meeting will be held with representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, and the European Commission, who will be joined by the special envoys of the United States, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.”
He added, "We will work to unify our positions and coordinate our steps in preparation for the next stage of negotiations."
The last round of negotiations in Geneva in February was held without leading to substantive results, and contacts stopped completely after the outbreak of war in the region in February, with American-Israeli strikes on Iran.
American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner began efforts to resume negotiations by visiting Moscow in September, then Kiev in the first visit of its kind, and they are the ones who head the American delegation in Abu Dhabi.
According to Kushner, the talks aim for Russia and Ukraine to directly discuss their concerns “about post-war security,” in order to “push toward concrete solutions and give momentum to the next phase of negotiations.”
US President Donald Trump, who directed several criticisms at Kiev over the past weeks, expected to reach a “very big” agreement with Russia that would not only include Ukraine, but “all of Europe,” which raised fears of an American rapprochement with the Kremlin.
The Europeans fear that Kiev will be forced to accept unfavorable terms in any settlement, or that Washington will provide new security guarantees to Russia without consulting them.
A high-ranking Ukrainian official, who requested to remain anonymous, told Agence France-Presse that Kiev “is not waiting for specific things” from the talks, and added: “We will see how things develop” on the ground.
Berlin, for its part, said, "It must now be verified whether Russia is ready to negotiate seriously."
On the sidelines of the talks, the Ukrainian delegation is holding “separate coordination meetings” with its partners from the European Union, NATO and the United Kingdom, according to Umarov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday that he held talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to coordinate positions with the European Union.
In a related context, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Denmark on Tuesday.
Russia seeks to exclude Europe from the discussions, while most European leaders have had limited or no contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since 2022.
The positions of the two sides appear very far apart, as Moscow demands a new definition of the "European security architecture" and the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the entire Donetsk region (east).
For its part, Kiev refuses to withdraw from that fortified region, the defense of which has cost it enormous human sacrifices since the outbreak of the war against pro-Russian separatists in 2014, and the subsequent large-scale Russian invasion starting in 2022.
Ukraine demands strong security guarantees sufficient to deter Moscow from launching attacks against it again, while the Kremlin opposes the deployment of any European peacekeeping forces.
Von der Leyen stressed on Monday that "any serious discussion in the European security architecture cannot be held before a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine, and must take place within an appropriate framework, especially with allies in NATO and member states of the European Union."
In the field, in parallel with its continuous bombing of Ukraine, Russia has been targeting energy infrastructure again for more than a month, raising fears of a new harsh winter during which millions of Ukrainians will suffer from power outages, heating, and running water.
In addition to similarly sharp criticism of his Ukrainian counterpart on several occasions, Trump moved closer to Moscow, and in early October he announced an agreement with the Kremlin to supply Russian diesel to the American market, despite Western sanctions, which angered Kiev.
A truce supervised by Melania Trump for a Ukrainian city on the front line
In a rare positive sign, a ceasefire recently supervised by US First Lady Melania Trump and exceptionally respected by both parties allowed the evacuation of residents of a city located on the front line in the Kherson region.
This was the longest truce since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has so far rejected a comprehensive ceasefire, arguing that this would allow Kiev to strengthen its capabilities.
The war in Ukraine, the most violent conflict in Europe since 1945, has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries on both sides, according to estimates, and has also caused massive destruction.
