On Tuesday, November 10, trilateral talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine begin in Abu Dhabi, the first substantive ones since February. American officials say they want to bring about the “ultimate end” to the war.
American proposal: a new security architecture
According to a US administration official cited by the media, the old security architecture in Europe has failed. “We need to build something new that works today” – he said, adding that once the war ends, it is to be truly its “ultimate end”. The US proposal envisages a “long-term security architecture” between Moscow and Europe.
The talks are to be divided into two main sessions. Washington wants Russia to agree to a broader, multilateral format, although American officials admit that Moscow does not trust European governments, which it blames for torpedoing earlier attempts at an agreement.
Donbas and Europe’s concerns
Publicly, Russia still demands the entire Donetsk Oblast, while Ukraine wants the current line of contact to be the border. According to American officials, the Donbas issue cannot be resolved without a clear picture of security after the war – both matters must be settled together. Donald Trump earlier said that in a final deal Ukraine would give up part of its territory, and that its shape would be “a little different”. On Monday, he told Reuters that the talks could bring a breakthrough.
European officials fear that Russia will insist on its demand for the withdrawal of NATO forces from Eastern Europe, which would leave allies exposed to Moscow’s influence. On Monday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers that Europe already has a security architecture, and the problem is that Russia does not abide by agreements it has signed, including those on sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The positions of Kyiv and Europe
Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X that he had coordinated positions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the meeting in Abu Dhabi. “We are doing everything so that the trilateral format delivers results” – he stressed.
Germany will be represented in Abu Dhabi by the chancellor’s adviser for foreign and security policy, Günter Sautter. At the turn of October, Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov announced the date of the talks – we wrote about this in our article on the Kremlin’s readiness to resume talks.
