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Washington has urged Moscow to put forward a fresh proposal for a security agreement with Europe, including measures to ease military tensions and address European concerns, as President Donald Trumps administration seeks to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, Axios reported on Wednesday, November 11.
Two insiders acquainted with the situation informed Axios that President Trump's envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, raised the proposal during talks involving Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi this week. The American side wants the Kremlin to outline its security demands while simultaneously suggesting reciprocal steps to reassure European nations that it harbours no aggressive designs against them. This diplomatic push unfolds as the White House attempts to forge a broader European security arrangement alongside a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as indicated by Russian media reports. Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev met the two American representatives at Vnukovo Airport, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. Additionally, Russia's state-run TASS news agency confirmed that the convoy carrying Dmitriev, Witkoff and Kushner left the airport following their arrival in the Russian capital. Furthermore, they want Putin to agree to European representatives participating in the next round of Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations. Following these engagements, the US envoys are expected to travel to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The concept for a new European security framework dominated the Abu Dhabi discussions, which commenced on Tuesday with American, Russian and Ukrainian delegates. These meetings marked the first time Russian and Ukrainian officials had held talks with US mediators present since February, when negotiations were suspended amid the conflict involving Iran, Axios reported. During the deliberations, Kremlin representatives contended that Putin initiated the military offensive against Kyiv because then-US President Joe Biden had failed to respond to a 2021 letter outlining Moscow's security concerns. In response, Kushner and Witkoff asserted that geopolitical circumstances had evolved dramatically since 2021, prompting them to ask Moscow to submit a fresh proposal addressing its grievances while detailing concrete actions it would undertake to reduce hostilities. "We told the Russians, they have their desires and fears, but they have to provide different de-escalation and different proposals as well, if they want Europe to be able to receive those proposals in a good way," Kushner stated after the talks. Moscow has historically resisted European participation in these diplomatic tracks. Senior Russian presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky censured several European governments, alleging they actively fuelled the conflict. The Trump administration intends to negotiate the Russia-Europe security framework and a Ukraine peace agreement simultaneously. Nevertheless, execution of any broader security arrangement would follow an accord halting the hostilities, an insider familiar with the executive branch's stance noted. Additionally, Washington has assured European capitals that it will withhold consent from any security arrangement lacking their approval or Ukraine's agreement, Axios reported. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen insisted that discussions about a new security architecture involving Russia should take place only after the war in Ukraine ends. (ANI)
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