Russia ready to begin discussing proposals for new European security architecture with US: Aide - Anadolu Ajansı

Presidential aide Yury Ushakov said Thursday that Russia is ready to “begin immediately” discussing proposals for a new security architecture in Europe together with the US.

It is “obvious to everyone” that the current European security system is not working, Ushakov said at a media briefing following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow.

“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.

Describing the talks in the Kremlin as “highly substantive, constructive, frank, and useful,” Ushakov said Witkoff and Kushner supported Putin’s proposal for a “humanitarian mission” in the city of Kostiantynivka, situated in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

At the start of the negotiations with the US envoys in Moscow, the Russian president proposed organizing a "humanitarian mission" to Kostiantynivka, which he claimed as under Russian control, saying 400 to 500 civilians remained in the settlement. Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the proposal.

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

He went on to argue that while Europe seeks to join Ukraine peace negotiations, its “practical actions” suggest a desire to continue the more than four-year war.

The presidential aide described the proposal to deploy foreign troops in Ukraine following the end of the war as “a recipe for an unending war,” noting Russia and the US agreed to continue trilateral talks on Ukraine.

He added that Putin and US President Donald Trump will continue discussing a settlement in Ukraine at their planned meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China next week.

Ushakov also stated that Moscow, Washington and Beijing are working on the content of a potential meeting between the Russian, American and Chinese presidents at the APEC summit. "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 taking part in two days of US-mediated Russia-Ukraine peace talks in the UAE, resulting notably in a new prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv, details of which have not yet been confirmed.

Kushner told reporters after the negotiations that he and Witkoff would travel to Moscow on Thursday for talks with Putin, where he said they would "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 head to Ireland, where they would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Dublin on Wednesday ahead of a summit of the European Political Community on Thursday and an informal summit of the European Council on Friday.

"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," said Ushakov.