Washington has offered Moscow to adopt an agreement that would provide Ukraine with protection similar to Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO treaty, according to journalist Alex Raupoglou of Radio Liberty.
"US officials just held a closed conference call with reporters ahead of the Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi. They presented Washington's expectations from the talks, key points of contention and next steps.
The United States aims to move beyond trilateral negotiations to a broader multilateral format that includes Europe. Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy, along with NATO, the European Union and Ukraine, are expected to join the discussion on security guarantees and the post-war security architecture in Europe.
Security guarantees will take center stage. Officials said Washington offered Russia an arrangement that would provide Ukraine with protections similar to those set out in Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO treaty.
Any commitment from the US ultimately depends on Trump, one of the sources said, emphasizing that the economic burden should be borne by Europe.
The territory issue remains unresolved. Russia still claims the entire Donetsk region, while Ukraine supports maintaining the current line of contact.
American officials said the two sides had shown some flexibility behind closed doors, but stressed that territorial issues and post-war security arrangements should be discussed at the same time. and finally solve them together.
No agreement is expected in Abu Dhabi. The goal is to clarify positions, identify remaining differences and create a basis for further negotiations.
Officials said the U.S. was "cautiously optimistic" and suggested that depending on progress, more meetings with Putin and Zelensky could take place soon," Raupoglou wrote in X.