Putin to decide NATO’s future in Europe? US President Trump open to postwar Europe security deal with Russia as Ukraine continues to pay the price

After almost five years of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the US is pursuing a peace deal by addressing two major fronts of the conflict simultaneously: ending the fighting in Ukraine and negotiating a broader security arrangement between Russia and Europe. According to sources cited by Axios, Washington is now open to discussing issues which Russia had long sought and whose earlier rejection reportedly led to Putin’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.This majorly includes limitations on NATO’s expansion and its military presence in Eastern Europe.

Two sources cited by the outlet stated that Washington would like the offer from Moscow to be one that takes into consideration their security needs as well as actions that would help European nations eliminate doubts of another future attack. The request was made during two days of US-sponsored negotiations held by the Russians and Ukrainians in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11.

US President Donald Trump's envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, are expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, November 12, to discuss the proposal and the progress made in Abu Dhabi. They are also reportedly looking forward to European representatives joining future rounds of peace negotiations, according to Axios.


The envoys are then expected to travel to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in Ireland for discussions with European leaders. The diplomatic push follows the first US-mediated direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials since February.

Kushner said the discussions had been difficult but productive. Explaining Washington's position, he said: "We told the Russians, they have their desires and fears, but they have to provide different de-escalation and different proposals as well, if they want Europe to be able to receive those proposals in a good way."

The Washington Post reported that the proposed framework draws on the now-defunct NATO-Russia Council, which provided a forum for dialogue between the alliance and Moscow. This is believed to give Russia a channel to raise security concerns, although European officials fear such an arrangement could grant the Kremlin greater influence over the continent's security decisions.

Why Russia's demands are raising concern in Europe

Moscow has repeatedly called for restrictions on NATO's eastward expansion and even presented draft security proposals to the United States and NATO that included demands to prevent further NATO enlargement and roll back aspects of the alliance's military presence in Eastern Europe in 2021.

Western governments rejected those demands before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Now, European governments are wary of being excluded from discussions about their own security. Although diplomats from Germany, Britain, France, Italy, the European Union and NATO were briefed around the Abu Dhabi negotiations, they did not participate directly in the trilateral discussions.

Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky questioned the value of European involvement, accusing some European leaders of contributing to the war. He said Moscow wanted a broader security arrangement, but his remarks offered little indication that Russia was ready to accept a meaningful European role in the process.

“We don’t really understand what we could talk about with them — we have not received a single peace initiative, a single peace proposal from the European countries,” he said as cited by the Washington Post. “But if they came here as tourists, they can chat about their affairs in a hotel bar. When they have concrete proposals, we will think them over, but so far they could take a lesson from the American envoys on common sense and realism.”

Adding to taking a jab at the European nations, US envoy Kushner said “If Europe could identify one person to speak on their behalf, that would be a bigger achievement than getting the Russians to include them in negotiations.”

Prisoner exchange agreed, but major differences remain

The Abu Dhabi meetings produced an agreement in principle on a large-scale prisoner exchange, which Ukrainian and Russian representatives said could be among the biggest since the war began. The exact number of prisoners and the arrangements for their release still needed to be finalised.

However, the negotiations did not produce a breakthrough on a ceasefire or the territorial dispute. Although discussions initially remained difficult, they gradually became more constructive, as per reports. Kushner described the negotiations as “pushing a boulder uphill” and called the meeting “tough … but productive.”

Ukraine’s chief negotiator David Arakhamia described the discussions as “one of the toughest ones” since he began negotiating, saying Russia had arrived with “strict directives” that were difficult to soften.

Arakhamia also described the talks as having “ended productively.”