First, an end to the war: Europe refuses to discuss Putin’s security demands

European countries are making an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine a precondition for discussing Moscow’s demands concerning the security system in Europe. According to Bloomberg, European officials are rejecting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands, as fulfilling them would effectively mean reducing NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe.

Representatives of European countries do not consider it appropriate to negotiate a reorganization of the security system while Moscow is waging war and violating existing international agreements. They point to one of the system’s main purposes: deterring possible Russian aggression against European countries.

This approach risks creating disagreements with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington wants to discuss European security alongside peace talks with Moscow, and its desire to reach an agreement as soon as possible is concerning several European capitals.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski warned against a situation in which Europeans would show greater interest in ending the war than the Russian leader.

“We must not want peace more than Putin does,” said Radosław Sikorski.

There is also opposition to the U.S. approach in the U.S. Congress. Democratic Senator Michael Bennet stressed that collective security among European countries already has a foundation:

“We already have a European security architecture. It’s called NATO. And the greatest threat to European security is not a lack of dialogue. It is Vladimir Putin,” said Michael Bennet.

Security guarantees for Ukraine remain another unresolved part of the negotiations. Allies are discussing what kind of support Kyiv could count on if Russia attacks again. The mechanisms for such assistance are being compared to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective defense. Possible forms of support include supplying weapons and providing other assistance, although Ukraine’s own army will continue to form the backbone of its defense.

The parties hold opposing positions on Western troops in Ukraine. Moscow objects to any military presence by Western countries on Ukrainian territory. Kyiv and its European partners, however, consider such measures necessary to prevent renewed Russian aggression.

At the talks in Abu Dhabi, Ukrainian and Russian representatives are expected to return to issues on which no agreement has yet been reached. These include possible steps to reduce tensions. According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg, representatives of European countries will likely also be in the city, but will join the talks only once sufficient progress has been made.

Discussions on territorial issues have effectively been put on hold for now: moving forward requires political decisions at the highest level. Putin continues to demand that all of Donbas be handed over to Russia. European officials say he has shown no willingness to reconsider this demand.

European representatives are also unsure whether the Russian president is genuinely prepared for serious peace talks at this time. In their view, Moscow continues to count on wearing down Ukrainians’ morale through massive bombardments, despite the heavy losses suffered by Russian forces and their lack of significant progress on the front.

We previously reported:

• Zelenskyy: Ukraine’s army size and neutrality are not up for discussion
• Three options for postwar guarantees: Ukraine is considering NATO, the U.S. and a coalition of the willing
• Putin says he is ready for talks and threatens to achieve all the goals of the war
• “Not NATO, but almost”: Zelenskyy on European soldiers in our country
• Russia demands that NATO leave the Baltics to end the war