“We asked the Russians for their consent to give Ukraine security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 4 and Article 5,” a U.S. official told reporters on Monday ahead of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. The U.S. has also proposed expanding the trilateral format to include European representatives.
The statements came during a press teleconference with U.S. officials ahead of trilateral talks among Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which begin Tuesday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they want subsequent rounds of talks to take place in a multilateral format, with European representatives taking part. In the Americans’ vision, talks on ending the fighting and on the postwar security order in Europe could be held in parallel.
“We are proposing that after this trilateral meeting, the Europeans be brought into the talks and that they be conducted along two parallel tracks, so that each helps resolve the other,” the official said during the press teleconference ahead of the talks in Abu Dhabi, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. He added that the U.S. wants to move from the trilateral format to a broader, multilateral one.
“Ukraine supports this. The Europeans support this. We, as mediators, support this too. (…) We hope we will convince the Russians of it,” he added, though he acknowledged that the Russians have a “distaste” for Europe over its alleged sabotage of the 2022 talks in Istanbul.
The U.S. official confirmed that representatives of the E3 (Germany, France and the United Kingdom), as well as Italy, NATO and the European Union, will be present in Abu Dhabi. From the context of the officials’ remarks, it appeared that the American envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, are to consult with them before the trilateral talks.
Washington’s representatives said that during Witkoff’s most recent visit to St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin responded “with enthusiasm” to a proposal to begin talks on a postwar “security architecture.”
“We said (…) that if the goal is to end this war, not further (…) expansion, but a real peace that could be lasting and secure, in which people would have predictability, and real incentives for the parties to keep their promises, and penalties imposed if they break them, then we believe we can work out a meaningful solution,” one of the officials said. “President Putin said: ‘Listen, that is exactly our intention,'” he recounted.
The American official suggested that the talks between the leaders of Norway and Finland and Vladimir Putin took place at the U.S.’s initiative and that this was a step in the right direction. He stressed, however, that more direct contact between Europe and Russia is needed.
Speaking about a potential postwar arrangement, the Americans revealed that they had asked Russia for consent to give Ukraine security guarantees along the lines of those in NATO’s Articles 4 and 5 (Article 5 is the alliance’s collective defense clause, which provides that an attack on one member of the organization is an attack on all and entails an armed response – PAP), and that the Alliance itself would give similar guarantees.
“So what Ukraine would receive would, in practice, be very similar to NATO,” one of the officials said.
“Obtaining an American security guarantee is a really serious matter. (…) President Zelensky will have to ask him (President Donald Trump – PAP) for it, and he will have to agree. (…) It is a very serious commitment in terms of resources, funding and military support,” the official acknowledged.
The officials also said they hope to reactivate and strengthen the NATO-Russia Council as a forum for dialogue between the two sides.
The Americans also envision consultations on security matters, the creation of crisis communication channels and reciprocal steps toward de-escalation.
The talks in Abu Dhabi will be divided into two sessions. The first concerns monitoring of a potential ceasefire and security after the war. The U.S. side will be represented by the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich. The second session will deal with territorial matters and other issues.
Speaking about territorial issues, the officials noted that although the two countries’ public positions have not changed (Russia wants all of Donbas, while Ukraine wants a ceasefire along the line of contact), in private they have signaled some flexibility.
The Americans do not expect a breakthrough in Abu Dhabi. The final “packages” of agreements are to be drawn up at subsequent meetings.
From Washington, Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
