Russia ready to discuss new European security architecture with US: aide

European security architecture

Presidential aide Yury Ushakov said Thursday that Moscow is ready to “begin immediately” discussing proposals for a new security architecture in Europe together with the US. He made the remarks at a media briefing after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow.

The current European security system is not working, Ushakov said, describing that assessment as “obvious to everyone.” He called the Kremlin talks “highly substantive, constructive, frank, and useful,” and said Witkoff and Kushner supported Putin’s proposal for a “humanitarian mission” in Kostiantynivka.

Ushakov said Russia hopes European countries will support efforts to establish the new framework. “We also hope that representatives of European countries will support efforts to agree on the parameters for a new, long-term architecture of indivisible security and peace -- a process we are prepared to begin immediately, in tandem with US representatives,” he said.

Humanitarian mission in Kostiantynivka

Putin proposed organizing a “humanitarian mission” to Kostiantynivka at the start of negotiations with the US envoys in Moscow, claiming the settlement was under Russian control and saying that 400 to 500 civilians remained there. Kostiantynivka is situated in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, and Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the proposal.

Russia is ready to begin demining efforts near the settlement to facilitate the proposed mission, Ushakov said Thursday evening. He added that the parameters of a prisoner swap between Moscow and Kyiv, agreed during peace negotiations held Tuesday and Wednesday in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, are being finalized.

Ukraine peace negotiations

Ushakov argued that Europe’s efforts to join the Ukraine peace negotiations are accompanied by “practical actions” indicating a desire to continue the more than four-year war. He described the proposal to deploy foreign troops in Ukraine after the war as “a recipe for an unending war.”

Russia and the US have agreed to continue trilateral talks on Ukraine, Ushakov said. He added that Putin and US President Donald Trump will continue discussing a settlement in Ukraine during their planned meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China next week.

APEC meeting plans

Moscow, Washington and Beijing are working on the content of a potential meeting between the Russian, American and Chinese presidents at the APEC summit, Ushakov stated. “We hope that this first meeting in such a format will have a salutary effect on the overall international situation,” he said.

Witkoff and Kushner arrived in the Russian capital Thursday after participating in two days of US-mediated Russia-Ukraine peace talks in the UAE. A new prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv was among the results, although details of the exchange have not yet been confirmed.

Kushner told reporters after the negotiations that he and Witkoff would travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet Putin, finalize the numbers for the prisoner swap and discuss Europe’s possible inclusion in the talks, which Moscow has opposed. He added that they would then go to Ireland to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Dublin on Wednesday ahead of a European Political Community summit Thursday and an informal European Council summit Friday.

Ushakov said, “We trust that the signals from Moscow will be conveyed to them (Ukraine) with the utmost precision. We remain in contact with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and we will discuss the state of affairs further before the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in China,”