US is offering Russia new security agreement with Europe: Moscow must take steps towards de-escalation, – Axios
The United States has asked Russia to draw up new proposals for a future security agreement with Europe. Washington expects Moscow to take concrete steps to ease tensions and to provide assurances that it has no plans for further aggression against European countries.
This is reported in an Axios article cited by Censor.NET.
The US wants to involve Europe in the negotiations
According to Axios, US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are due to meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday. They are set to re-present the initiative on a security agreement and persuade Russia to allow European representatives to join the next round of talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
The US administration believes that it is impossible to seriously discuss security guarantees without the participation of European countries.
At the same time, many European capitals view Washington’s approach with suspicion. To allay their partners’ concerns, the US has given assurances that it will not conclude any security agreements with Moscow without the involvement of Europe and Ukraine. Furthermore, Russia will not have the right to veto decisions concerning the continent’s security.
Talks in Abu Dhabi: the parties have agreed on a prisoner exchange
According to the publication’s sources, preliminary talks between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations on Tuesday got off to a tense start. This was due to a nine-month hiatus in direct contacts. However, after discussing mutual grievances, the discussion took a constructive turn.
On 10–11 November, a two-day round of trilateral talks took place in Abu Dhabi, involving Ukraine, the US and Russia. The parties discussed ending the war, territorial issues, security guarantees for Ukraine and humanitarian agreements.
The main outcome of the meetings was an agreement to prepare for a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasised that the first step towards a peaceful settlement must be an end to the war. Only then can discussions on security and future agreements begin.
Following the talks, the parties acknowledged that significant differences remain between them. In particular, Jared Kushner cited the territorial issue as the main obstacle to reaching an agreement on security guarantees.
