Washington, DC, November 12 (ANI): Washington has urged Moscow to submit a fresh proposal for a security agreement with Europe, including measures to ease military tensions and address European concerns, as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, Axios reported on Wednesday, November 11.
Two sources familiar with the matter told Axios that Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, raised the proposal during talks involving Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi this week.
The US side wants the Kremlin to outline its security demands while proposing reciprocal measures to reassure European nations that it has no aggressive intentions toward them.
The diplomatic initiative comes as the White House seeks to establish 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, according to Russian media reports.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev met the two American representatives at Vnukovo Airport, the Russian news agency Interfax reported. Russia’s state-run TASS news agency also confirmed that a convoy carrying Dmitriev, Witkoff and Kushner left the airport following their arrival in the Russian capital.
Washington also wants Putin to agree to European representatives participating in the next round of Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations. Following the engagements, the US envoys are expected to travel to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The proposed European security framework dominated discussions in Abu Dhabi, which began 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 discussions, Kremlin representatives argued that Putin launched 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 argued that geopolitical circumstances had changed dramatically since 2021. They urged Moscow to submit a new proposal addressing its concerns while outlining concrete measures it would take 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 said after the talks.
Moscow has historically opposed European participation in these diplomatic discussions. Senior Russian presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky criticized several European governments, accusing them of actively fueling the conflict.
The Trump administration intends to negotiate a Russia-Europe security framework and a peace agreement for Ukraine simultaneously.
However, implementation of any broader security arrangement would follow an agreement to end hostilities, a source familiar with the administration’s position told Axios.
Washington has also assured European capitals that it will not approve any security arrangement without their consent 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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