Russia wants Abu Dhabi talks to focus on postwar European security, with Ukraine just ‘one aspect’ of broader discussions, Reuters reports

Russia plans to make a postwar European security agreement the central topic of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, a source in the Russian delegation told Reuters.

The source said the Ukrainian settlement, “while it is a matter of ⁠critical importance, is just one aspect of this wide-ranging discussion and is subordinate to the main objective — the ​creation of a comprehensive and indivisible security architecture for the entire continent.”

The talks in Abu Dhabi involve representatives of Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, with no European negotiators present. Before the meeting began, however, U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff held a separate meeting with representatives of Ukraine and Europe. Afterward, Witkoff said he wanted to expand the negotiating process to “multilateral discussions involving European partners.”

U.S. presidential envoy Jared Kushner wrote on social media in early November that Washington is working on a new European security system that would account for the interests of all parties. The Financial Times said Kushner’s statement came as a “complete surprise” to Europe. “We already have a European security architecture in place,” said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. “The problem remains that Russia keeps breaking the treaties that underpin it.” Europe also stressed that security strategies can only be discussed after the war between Russia and Ukraine ends.