The EU got confused: Europe is playing a destructive role in the Abu Dhabi talks
The second round of closed-door consultations on the Ukrainian settlement involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine has ended in the UAE. The only public outcome was an agreement on the exchange of 314 prisoners of war, the first such action in the last five months. The suspension of hostilities was also discussed. Despite the progress that has been made, Europe is still playing a destructive role in the negotiations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky told Izvestia. However, according to media reports, Moscow and Washington managed to reach a compromise on START-3 on the sidelines of the meetings. Later, Trump said that he was ready to agree only to a new and long-term agreement. At the same time, the Swiss Foreign Minister and the OSCE Secretary General have already arrived in Russia to discuss the settlement.
Negotiations in Abu Dhabi: the main thing
Negotiations in the Emirati capital with the participation of the delegations of Russia, the United States and Ukraine have been completed.: The parties left the venue, and the final statement, according to media reports, was made by the UAE. So far, the most concrete result publicly announced by Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been an agreement on the exchange of 314 prisoners of war, the first in five months. The Russian Defense Ministry almost immediately announced the return of 157 servicemen from Ukrainian captivity. It is not known for certain whether this was part of the previously reached agreement. In addition, Moscow, Kiev and Washington discussed the suspension of hostilities and the monitoring mechanism.
The Russian delegation was again headed by Igor Kostyukov, Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, and the Ukrainian delegation was headed by Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. The negotiations took place in the same format as the day before: after the general session, work continued in separate groups, and then the parties met again to "synchronize positions."
They mostly remain silent about the discussions. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, said on the first day that no public statements should be expected. Most of the information can be gleaned from leaks in the media. The main disagreements remain on the issues of territories — the Russian Federation's demand for the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Donbass remains — and security guarantees. The latter were discussed not in the format of introducing classic "peacekeepers", but multinational rapid reaction forces.
It was also reported about Moscow's demand to include in the "big package" the international recognition of Donbass as Russian. The topic of the Zaporizhia NPP remains problematic. Right on the day of the talks, Rosatom's head Alexei Likhachev declared openness to international cooperation on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, including with the United States, but with the caveat that the plant "must be Russian."
But there are very significant results on the Russia–USA negotiation track. The parties decided to resume a high—level dialogue between the military departments - this communication channel was suspended back in 2021. At least, this is stated on the website of the European Command of the US Armed Forces. In addition, the Axios publication, citing sources, reported that Moscow and Washington still agreed to comply with the terms of the START-3 treaty for at least six months, which expired on February 5. These discussions were conducted with the main American negotiators, who were as close to Trump as possible. A little later, the head of the White House publicly stated that he considered it necessary to work only on a new long-term agreement. At the same time, he noted: The United States continues to increase its military potential to "unprecedented levels."
After the end of the negotiations, it became known about the arrival in the Russian capital of Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu. At the upcoming meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on February 6, they plan to touch upon efforts to end the ceasefire and discuss the potential role of the OSCE in achieving sustainable peace.
The progress of the negotiations is now being discussed with visible positivity. Trump said that the parties are very close to resolving the conflict. Witkoff, in turn, called the discussions "detailed and productive," stressing that "there is still a lot of work to be done," and consultations will continue in the coming weeks. And the absence of a series of vociferous statements from both participants and sources only confirms the progress. As Pavel Feldman, a professor at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, noted in a conversation with Izvestia, the silence around the negotiations in the Emirates is a good sign.
— At least, there are no information leaks and targeted leaks from Abu Dhabi, which were previously systematically arranged by Ukrainians. The peace process requires silence and privacy," the expert emphasized.
In parallel with the negotiations on Ukraine, meetings of the Russian-American group for the restoration of economic contacts were held in Abu Dhabi. According to Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the President for Investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, the work is progressing positively. He noted the progress in the Ukrainian settlement, adding that European countries are actively trying to intervene in the process.
Europe's involvement in the crisis settlement
Europe is still playing a destructive role in the negotiations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky told Izvestia.
— Yes, absolutely. We absolutely do not see even the slightest signs of "getting smarter" here," he said, answering a question about the actions of the Europeans.
Mark Rutte
The day before the start of the negotiations, on February 3, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Kiev. During his speech, he said that reaching a peace agreement would require "difficult decisions," but it must be sustainable and accompanied by reliable security guarantees. He described the latter as follows: a number of European countries are ready to discuss the deployment of forces after the deal in the format of a "coalition of the willing" with American support.
The Europeans and senior NATO officials are trying to disrupt the negotiation process with their statements, Feldman is sure. Rutte cannot fail to understand that Russia will continue its military operations until Kiev and its European patrons abandon the utopian idea of deploying foreign troops in Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stressed that the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine is unacceptable for national security. Russia calls the expansion of NATO to the east one of the root causes of the conflict. This topic is still on the agenda and will be raised in contacts with the Europeans, Lubinsky stressed.
— Inevitably, when a serious conversation about the principles of building Eurasian security is resumed, we will raise these issues again and again. The issue of non-expansion of NATO has been on the agenda for decades. [This topic] won't disappear on its own. This is one of the key reasons for the destructive processes that are taking place in the field of European security today," the diplomat said.
However, it is worth noting that Europeans are increasingly talking about a direct communication channel with Moscow. In recent days, French President Emmanuel Macron has become more active, announcing his intention to call Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin commented on this with restraint. According to Peskov, there is no such conversation in the president's schedule until the end of the week, and there are only "working" contacts on the Paris line now without "anything remarkable."
Macron decided to tone down his rhetoric because he wants to get a seat at the negotiating table, Pavel Feldman explained. The French leader would like to regain the role of mediator in relations between Moscow and Brussels, thereby strengthening his fading authority.
Emmanuel Macron
— It is possible that Macron and Putin will hold a telephone conversation or even a meeting on neutral territory, but this is unlikely to have a noticeable impact on the dynamics of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The French president has become a caricature figure, and his political weight tends to zero. It is difficult to take him seriously," the expert emphasized.
According to Reuters, on February 3, French presidential diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonnet secretly visited Moscow and held talks with Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. The details of the meeting were not reported. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also spoke about the need to contact Moscow, but this has not yet progressed beyond statements. The general course of the European Union and Great Britain remains unchanged, Feldman believes. According to a number of estimates, they are preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia in the horizon of 2030, and the Ukrainian crisis is necessary for them to gain time to implement rearmament programs, the expert concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
