US asks Russia to draft new security proposal for Europe
The United States has asked Russia to draft a new security proposal for Europe, including reciprocal steps to ease tensions, during US-mediated Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi.
Washington seeks a new European security framework
The proposal was discussed during negotiations involving Russian, Ukrainian and US delegations in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11, according to two sources familiar with the discussions who spoke to Axios.
Russian representatives reportedly argued that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began because then-US President Joe Biden had failed to respond to a 2021 letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin outlining Moscow's security concerns.
In response, US President Donald Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, proposed that Moscow prepare a new draft agreement addressing its security concerns and demands. The document should also outline what "symmetrical steps" Russia would be willing to take to de-escalate tensions and reassure European countries that it would not attack them in the future, Axios reported.
The American envoys also stressed that European officials must participate in discussions on the continent's security arrangements if the issue is to be addressed seriously.
Putin meeting expected to revive security discussions
Witkoff and Kushner are scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on November 12. According to Axios sources, the US envoys intend to resume discussions on a new security agreement between Russia and Europe.
However, one source familiar with the matter said such an arrangement could only be implemented after the war in Ukraine ends.
"Zelensky won't agree to a deal until he knows what happens next regarding security guarantees. And Putin wants to know this, too. This is why the security issue is so important," the source told Axios.
Moscow calls for a broader European security order
Earlier, Russian presidential adviser and head of Moscow's delegation to the Ukraine negotiations, Vladimir Medinsky, said the main objective should be to establish a new system of comprehensive security in Europe.
He described the proposed arrangement as "a new Yalta and a new Potsdam", inspired by the spirit of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act and reflecting what Moscow considers the new international realities. He also said the framework should ensure fairness.
Medinsky argued that such a system could guarantee "peace in Europe for decades, perhaps even centuries".
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also said that Moscow has a position paper outlining its vision for the future security architecture in Eurasia. He expressed hope that the United States "will have sufficient determination to continue the dialogue aimed at achieving a fair balance of interests, so that the security of no party is compromised".
EU insists Ukraine war must end first
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that meaningful discussions on a new European security architecture can begin only after a ceasefire has been achieved in Ukraine.
She also stressed that such discussions must take place in an appropriate forum involving NATO allies and EU member states.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
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