War in Ukraine: Washington calls for a “new” security framework including Europe

Negotiations between kyiv and Moscow, under American mediation, began Tuesday, November 10 in Abu Dhabi after months of interruption, with the hope of progressing towards a settlement of the conflict and, according to Washington, of working on a “new” security framework including Europe.

This meeting, the first since February and which is to continue on Wednesday, opened with the Russian and Ukrainian delegations facing each other, in the presence of American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, according to AFPTV. “We hope to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine,” declared the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Roustem Oumerov, at the opening of the negotiations, even if kyiv's expectations with regard to this meeting remain generally very moderate.

Ensuring “decades, even centuries, of peace”

The American envoy Jared Kushner, for his part, called for a “new” security framework for Ukraine and Russia, but also for Europe, in order to ensure “decades, even centuries, of peace”. Similar position on the Russian side: the settlement of the war in Ukraine “is only one element” of the debate whose “ultimate objective is the creation of a global and indivisible security architecture for the entire continent” of Europe, indicated a source within the Russian delegation.

US President Donald Trump, who has strongly criticized kyiv in recent weeks and is accused of wanting to favor economic cooperation with the Kremlin, predicted on Thursday a “very big agreement” with Russia on Ukraine which could “encompass all of Europe”. kyiv and the Europeans reacted to these vague remarks by saying they were opposed to any agreement concluded behind their backs. In a sign of a certain skepticism, a senior Ukrainian official affirmed that kyiv had no “particular expectations”. “We will see how things evolve” on site, he said, on condition of anonymity.

Berlin, for its part, estimated that “we now need to see whether Russia is really ready to negotiate seriously.” A US official speaking on condition of anonymity, however, said he was “cautiously optimistic”, believing that both kyiv and Moscow “have shown a little flexibility in private” on their positions.

Russia seeks to exclude Europe from discussions

Before the start of the trilateral negotiations, the Ukrainian team met with American envoys and representatives of the United Kingdom, the EU and NATO in order to “align” their positions, Roustem Oumerov said. “We are working hand in hand with the Ukrainians,” said a source within the French presidency. “There cannot be a lasting settlement in Ukraine without taking into account European security, nor an agreement on security in Europe without the Europeans,” she added.

Russia seeks to exclude Europe from discussions and most European leaders have had little to no contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since 2022. The Kremlin opposes any deployment of European peacekeeping troops. On the ground, Russia continues to shell Ukraine and again, for more than a month, its energy network, raising fears of a new winter without heating, running water or electricity for millions of Ukrainians. Again during the night from Monday to Tuesday, Russia fired a ballistic missile and 162 drones towards Ukraine, according to kyiv.