U.S. Agrees to Broaden Ukraine Talks to European Security, Handing Russia an Early 1st Win
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 9
U.S. Agrees to Broaden Ukraine Talks to European Security, Handing Russia an Early 1st Win
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 9
Summary
Tuesday’s Abu Dhabi talks will include a broader European security architecture, a U.S. concession that Western and Russian officials say gives Moscow a strategic win before negotiations even begin.
Russia has long sought that framing to justify its 2022 invasion as a response to NATO expansion, even though the U.S. and allies had previously rejected those claims as false.
European officials want seats at the talks and insist Russia must stop the war first, arguing NATO and the EU already provide Europe’s security framework and that Moscow is the party that violated it.
Trump’s team — led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — faces criticism from former U.S. and European officials, who say inexperience and talk of postwar business deals risk ceding more ground to the Kremlin.
The shift underscores Washington’s urgency after months of stalled diplomacy, continued Russian strikes including a Zaporizhzhia attack that killed at least 53 people, and Trump’s push to secure a deal quickly.