US asks Russia for new European security proposal, Kushner and Witkoff to meet Putin

A new security proposal for Europe

Axios reported on Wednesday, 11 November, that Washington has asked Moscow to prepare a new proposal for a future security agreement covering Europe, setting out steps Russia is ready to take to ease tensions on the continent. The outlet cited two people familiar with the negotiations, who described a document combining Russia's concerns and demands with the de-escalation steps Moscow would take to reassure Europe it will not attack. Russia has long sought an agreement that would limit NATO's enlargement and reduce the Alliance's military presence in Eastern Europe. Washington rejected those demands in the past, but it now appears willing to consider them in some form, as part of a wider deal to end the war in Ukraine. According to Axios, many European governments view the approach of the Trump administration with deep distrust.

Envoys' route through Moscow and Dublin

Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, special envoys of President Donald Trump, are due to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, 12 November, to ask him to present the proposal, and they want him to accept European representatives in the next round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, a US official said. From Moscow the pair are scheduled to travel to Dublin, where they are due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday evening. Zelensky arrived in Ireland on Wednesday, 11 November, and told a press conference with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin that a real window of opportunity exists for a breakthrough this year, with all parties keen to reach a result before 2027. He said much depends on whether Washington is willing to press Russia and on the format of dialogue chosen by the Americans and Russians. He hopes the envoys return from Moscow with concrete outcomes, and he will attend European summits in Ireland on Thursday and Friday.

Abu Dhabi talks and Moscow's stance

The two-day talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi ended on Wednesday, 11 November, the first meeting between the parties since February. Ukrainian negotiator Dawid Arachamija described the talks as difficult, saying the Russian side arrived with strict guidelines. Władimir Miedinski, a leading Kremlin ideologue who headed the Russian delegation, said a new security framework for Europe was one of the main topics but gave no details of the discussions. He said Russia would not yet agree to European participation in talks on Ukraine, accusing some European leaders of misleading and exploiting Ukrainians and of contributing to civilian deaths. Miedinski added that he does not understand what he would discuss with those leaders. Axios, citing two people familiar with the talks, reported that Russian negotiators said Putin launched the invasion because then US president Joe Biden did not answer his 2021 letter setting out Russia's security concerns.

Three options Russia has outlined for NATO

Aleksiej Drobinin, a senior Russian foreign ministry diplomat, set out Moscow's options at a security conference in Moscow on Wednesday, 11 November, according to Reuters. One option is a collective defence alliance or bilateral mutual-assistance deals like the ones Russia has with Belarus and North Korea. A second is political agreements committing signatories not to support the adversaries of the other side in case of aggression, similar to Russia's deal with Iran. The third is bilateral non-aggression pacts with individual NATO members, which could come with additional individual security guarantees from Russia. Some European politicians oppose discussing European security architecture with Russia before a ceasefire deal in Ukraine, while US representatives have voiced openness to such talks.

What remains open

No agreed outcome has been reported so far, and the envoys' route runs through Moscow on Thursday, 12 November, before Dublin that evening. Russia has not accepted European participation, and Miedinski's remarks show the two sides still disagree on who should sit at the table. Many European governments remain distrustful of the US approach, according to Axios. Zelensky's European summits in Ireland run on Thursday, 12 November, and Friday, 13 November.