Russia wants the United Kingdom and France to give up the option of using their nuclear weapons to protect other European countries. The demand is included in a Russian document presented as part of Moscow’s conditions for ending the war in Ukraine and establishing a new security architecture in Europe, The New York Times reported.
The document also calls for NATO to return its military configuration to the state it was in in 1997, halt its expansion and end military assistance to Ukraine. This would limit the Alliance’s presence in Central and Eastern Europe and reduce European countries’ ability to rely on nuclear deterrence beyond the US commitment.
The demand is broader than Russia’s position in 2021
According to the published details, Moscow is no longer focusing solely on US nuclear weapons stationed in Europe. The new proposal also covers the national nuclear forces of the United Kingdom and France and insists that they not be used to protect other countries on the continent. The information was republished by the Ukrainian outlet Hromadske, which cited The New York Times report.
The issue is linked to discussions about Europe’s future security, which the United States placed alongside negotiations to halt the fighting. American and Russian representatives discussed the matter in Abu Dhabi between November 10 and 12. After meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on November 12, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner said that Europe would be included in the next stage of the talks.
EU insists on a ceasefire first
European governments reacted cautiously to the attempt to put discussions about the continent’s security ahead of an end to the fighting. Addressing the European Political Community, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said: “If we start discussing what Russia wants regarding the security architecture, we will fall into the trap it is setting for us.”
Kallas said the sequence in which new rules for Europe are agreed first and an agreement on Ukraine is sought only afterward was misguided. The EU’s position is that the process should begin with a ceasefire, followed by a peace agreement and talks on long-term security.
Russia’s conditions have so far been presented as part of a negotiating position, not as an agreed deal. There has been no public announcement that the United Kingdom or France has accepted the demand to limit their nuclear deterrence. A meeting between US President Donald Trump, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen on November 18–19, with the war in Ukraine and relations between Moscow and the West expected to be among the main topics.
Sources: telegraph.co.uk, apnews.com, hromadske.ua