US Wants Russia to Propose New Security Deal With Europe as Trump Pushes Ukraine Peace Talks: Report

The United States has asked Russia to put forward a fresh proposal for a security agreement with Europe, including steps to reduce military tensions and address European concerns, as President Donald Trump’s administration pursues negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, Axios reported on Wednesday.

Two people familiar with the discussions told the publication that US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff raised the proposal during talks involving Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi this week.

Washington wants Moscow to spell out its security demands while proposing reciprocal measures to reassure European countries that Russia does not intend to threaten them. The Trump administration is seeking to negotiate a broader European security arrangement alongside a possible agreement to end the fighting in Ukraine.

US ENVOYS ARRIVE IN MOSCOW

Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Russian media reports.

Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev received the two US representatives at Vnukovo Airport, Interfax reported. State-run TASS said the convoy carrying Dmitriev, Witkoff and Kushner subsequently left the airport.

Washington also wants Putin to agree to European representatives taking part in the next round of Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations. The US envoys are expected to travel to Dublin after their Moscow meetings to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

NEW SECURITY FRAMEWORK DOMINATES ABU DHABI TALKS

The proposal for a new European security framework was a central issue during discussions in Abu Dhabi, which began on Tuesday with American, Russian and Ukrainian representatives.

According to Axios, the meetings marked the first time since February that Russian and Ukrainian officials had held talks with US mediators present. Negotiations had been suspended amid the conflict involving Iran.

During the discussions, Russian representatives argued that Putin had launched the military offensive against Kyiv because then-US President Joe Biden had failed to respond to a letter sent by Moscow in 2021 outlining its security concerns.

Kushner and Witkoff countered that geopolitical circumstances had changed significantly since then. They asked Moscow to submit a new proposal addressing its concerns and specifying steps it would take to reduce tensions.

“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 RESISTS EUROPEAN PARTICIPATION

Russia has traditionally opposed European involvement in negotiations over the conflict. Senior Russian presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky has criticised several European governments, accusing them of fuelling the war.

The Trump administration intends to pursue negotiations on a Russia-Europe security framework and a Ukraine peace agreement simultaneously. However, implementation of any wider security arrangement would follow an agreement to halt hostilities, a person familiar with the administration's position told Axios.

Washington has also assured European capitals that it would not approve a security arrangement without their consent or Ukraine's agreement, the report said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, has maintained that discussions on a new security architecture involving Russia should take place only after the war in Ukraine ends.

With inputs from ANI