US envoy Jared Kushner called from Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to establish a new security framework for Ukraine, Russia and Europe to ensure peace, with the start of talks between Kiev and Moscow under the auspices of Washington.
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,” according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
Official Russian media reported that negotiators from Ukraine and Russia began the new round of talks in Abu Dhabi.
Before that, Ukrainian negotiators met with Washington envoys and representatives of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 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,” according to what was reported by “Agence France-Presse.”
For his part, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday that the Europeans will attend the Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi, and that no discussions can be held with Russia about Europe’s security before reaching an agreement to cease fire and bring peace. Barot stated To France Info radio: “Britain, Germany and France will already be in the meeting room.”
The last round of negotiations was held in Geneva in February, without leading to substantive results. Communications stopped completely after the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
Witkoff and Kushner began efforts to resume negotiations by visiting Moscow in September, then Kiev in the first visit of its kind. The two men head the American delegation in Abu Dhabi.
According to Kushner, the talks aim for Russia and Ukraine to directly discuss their concerns “in terms of security in the post-war period.” In order to “push towards concrete solutions” and give “impetus for the next phase of negotiations.”
US President Donald Trump, who has directed several criticisms at Kiev in recent weeks, expected to reach a “very big” agreement with Russia that includes not only 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.
Berlin, for its part, said that “it must now be verified whether Russia is truly prepared to negotiate seriously.”
Similar to the last negotiating round in Geneva, the Ukrainian delegation is headed by Rustam Umarov while the Russian delegation is led by nationalist historian Vladimir Medinsky.
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.
Russia seeks to exclude Europe from the discussions, while most European leaders have had only limited or no contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since 2022.
The positions of the two parties appear very far apart. Moscow is demanding a new definition of the “European security architecture” and the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the entire Donetsk region (east).
Kiev, for its part, refuses to withdraw from that fortified region, the defense of which has cost it enormous human sacrifices since the outbreak of 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.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Monday that he discussed with French President Emmanuel Macron the situation in Lebanon, where the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) expires on December 31 in the south of the country, where Israel continues to occupy large areas, as well as the choice of the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Rubio said in statements to reporters shortly after his meeting with Macron on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Paris, “The goal is to have a reliable party on the ground capable of verifying the parties’ commitment to (the terms of the framework agreement) in the experimental areas. This does not necessarily require a military mission like the one that UNIFIL was (performing...) but it could be civilian.”
Lebanon entered the war on March 2 after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel, which it said were in response to the killing of Iranian guide Ali Khamenei in the first American and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Israel responded with an intense campaign of raids and a ground incursion by its forces, which occupied dozens of towns and villages in southern Lebanon, and widespread bombing operations.
The intensity of the fighting calmed down after a memorandum of understanding was reached between Iran and the United States in June, and then Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement stipulating the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the lands it had penetrated into southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army, starting from two “experimental” areas.
Paris is seeking to establish a mechanism to guarantee an international presence after the end of the mandate of the United Nations force within the deadline set by the UN Security Council under American pressure. Paris, in cooperation with Rome, wants to form a multinational force to succeed UNIFIL.
Regarding the process of selecting the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, Rubio said, “We are following the process closely. Ultimately, what matters most to us is that the person chosen is committed to implementing reforms at the United Nations.” He added, "I believe that one of the things that can save the United Nations is to reform it." If not, you will face big problems. We want in the position of Secretary-General someone committed, even deeply committed, to the issue of reform.”
The US Secretary of State denied that the United States was pushing a specific candidate, considering that this would make him “doomed to lose,” stressing, “We see that there are two or three very qualified people.” We will let the voting process take its course in this context. "At some point, the world will decide who it wants."
On October 30, Rebecca Greenspan (70 years old), former Vice President of Costa Rica and former Director of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, once again topped the seventh exploratory vote conducted by the Security Council on the potential candidate for the position of Secretary-General, ahead of Argentine Rafael Grossi, the current director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Caroline Rodriguez Burkett, the former Foreign Minister of Guyana.
