Axios: US asks Russia to propose new security agreement with Europe

According to sources cited by Axios, the United States has asked Russia to submit a new proposal for a future security agreement with Europe, which would include steps from the Russian side to ease tensions with the continent.

The significance of this move, according to the site, lies in the fact that Russia has sought for years to conclude a European security agreement that would limit NATO's expansion and reduce its military presence in Eastern Europe.

Although the US previously rejected these demands, it now appears open to them - one way or another - as part of a broader deal to end the war in Ukraine. However, many European governments view the US administration's approach with deep suspicion.

A US official said that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, envoys of President Donald Trump, will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today, Thursday, to renew this request. They also hope that Putin will allow European representatives to participate in the next round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

At the same time, according to "Axios," Kushner and Witkoff are expected to travel from Moscow to Dublin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the evening of the same Thursday.

Tuesday and Wednesday saw the first meeting between Ukrainian and Russian officials with American mediators present since February, when these meetings were suspended due to the war on Iran.

In recent weeks, Witkoff and Kushner met with both Putin and Zelensky, creating a certain momentum. Putin agreed to resume peace talks and release US citizen Steven Hubbard, whom Russia had detained in 2022.

Kushner and Witkoff, in cooperation with First Lady Melania Trump and her team, also succeeded in mediating a humanitarian ceasefire in the city of "Oleshki."

The talks began in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, with the participation of Witkoff, Kushner, and the commander of US forces in Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, who took on the role of mediation between the Russian and Ukrainian sides.

The two parties agreed on a prisoner exchange deal, which Kushner and Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia described as potentially "the largest since the outbreak of the war," according to "Axios."

US and Ukrainian officials stated that the exact number of prisoners to be released would be determined during meetings scheduled for Thursday with Putin and Zelensky.

Before and after the talks, the US and Ukrainian negotiating teams briefed a delegation comprising senior diplomats from Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the European Union, and NATO on the latest developments.