WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that progress had been made toward establishing a postwar security framework for Ukraine and Europe, as US-mediated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine prepare to resume this week in Abu Dhabi with European participation.
Rubio said discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine and the broader European continent had advanced, although no agreement had been finalized, and expressed hope that further progress could be made during the talks scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
“The entirety of the time we’ve been talking about Russia-Ukraine, the one thing that’s repeatedly come up is the need for security guarantees. What is the postwar security infrastructure of Ukraine and more broadly of the European continent going to look like?” Rubio told reporters.
“I think that’s what the president’s alluding to — is that there’s been some advances made in what that architecture could look like post-conflict,” he added.
“We obviously have to get past the conflict to get to that point. Nothing’s been finalized yet, and maybe some progress can be made in Abu Dhabi,” Rubio said.
His comments came as US President Donald Trump seeks to advance efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, which began with Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Trump on Thursday predicted a “very big” deal with Moscow involving not only Ukraine but “all of Europe,” remarks that raised questions about the potential implications of any settlement for European security.
European participation
European countries are expected to participate in the Abu Dhabi discussions, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirming on Sunday that France would send representatives.
“The Europeans will be well represented. France will be in Abu Dhabi to take part in these discussions,” Barrot told French radio station RTL, without identifying who would represent Paris.
US envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington would bring Russian and Ukrainian delegations together in the Emirati capital on November 10-11 to discuss ending the war, postwar security arrangements and measures to de-escalate the conflict.
Rubio is traveling to Paris for talks with G7 foreign ministers ahead of the negotiations.
Security guarantees on agenda
The security framework has emerged as a central issue in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, particularly the question of how Ukraine’s security would be protected after any ceasefire or peace agreement and what role European countries and NATO would play.
Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner, who is also the president’s son-in-law, said US officials held “productive and substantive discussions” with Ukraine, NATO and European partners in Brussels on Thursday.
Those discussions focused on security guarantees for Ukraine and a broader European security architecture, according to Kushner.
Witkoff and Kushner are expected to represent the United States at the Abu Dhabi talks.
The discussions will test whether Washington can translate the progress reported on security arrangements into a framework acceptable to Kyiv, Moscow and European governments, amid continuing disagreements over the terms of a possible settlement.
No details of a proposed security arrangement have been made public, and the outcome of the negotiations remains uncertain.
