The United States wants Russia to accept security guarantees for Ukraine similar to NATO’s mutual defense mechanisms. The proposal will be discussed at a new round of talks between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington, which begins on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.
American officials have asked Russia to accept guarantees modeled on Articles 4 and 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Article 5 treats an attack against one ally as an attack against all, while Article 4 provides for consultations when the security of a member state is threatened. For Ukraine, this would mean a commitment from the United States and European countries in the event of a new Russian attack, without the country automatically becoming a NATO member.
Politico describes the proposal as a significant change in the American approach, since the guarantees are being discussed with the country that launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. There is still no indication that Moscow has accepted the specific model, nor is it clear what military and political actions would be triggered by a new attack.
Europe will participate, but not in the main format
The US delegation in Abu Dhabi is led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Representatives of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, NATO and the European Union have been invited and will hold separate talks with the American and Ukrainian sides.
Washington insists that Europe be included in the future security architecture of the continent. “We strongly believe that at this stage, in order to bring the war to an end, Europe needs to be at the table,” a US official told the Associated Press.
Moscow, however, insists that the talks remain in a trilateral format involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States. Russian presidential foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said that European representatives would not be invited to the main table. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov allowed for broader European participation at a later stage, since the talks concern Europe’s future security.
Territories remain the main obstacle
Russia insists that Ukraine withdraw its troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, which Moscow declared annexed in 2022, even though it does not fully control any of them. The Kremlin also wants Kyiv to abandon its bid for NATO membership and accept restrictions on its army.
Ukraine rejects the voluntary surrender of territory and insists that a ceasefire be reached first. Kyiv believes that the subsequent agreement must include credible guarantees to prevent a new Russian invasion.
American officials say the two sides have shown some private flexibility on the issue of Donetsk region, but their public positions remain unchanged. According to Washington, the territorial issue cannot be resolved before it is determined what the postwar security system will look like.
President Donald Trump said that Moscow and Kyiv were “very close” to a deal, but added that Ukraine would be in a “slightly different shape.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the process still had a long way to go.
The talks are beginning amid continuing hostilities. Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine’s electricity system, while Ukrainian forces have attacked Russian oil facilities. If the meetings in Abu Dhabi result in progress, Witkoff and Kushner may visit Moscow and Kyiv for talks with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
Sources: politico.com, apnews.com, axios.com