Washington has invited Moscow to accept an agreement that provides Ukraine with similar protection to Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO Treaty, the journalist reports.
"US officials just held a closed conference call with reporters ahead of the Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi. They detailed Washington's expectations for the negotiations, the main points of contention and the next steps.
The United States wants to go beyond trilateral negotiations and move to a broader multilateral format with European participation.
Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy, along with NATO, the European Union and Ukraine, are expected to join the discussions on security guarantees and the post-war security architecture in Europe. Security guarantees will take center stage.
Officials said Washington proposed that Russia accept an arrangement that would provide Ukraine with protection similar to that provided for in Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO treaty.
Any US commitment will ultimately depend on Trump, one of the officials said, stressing that Europe should bear the financial burden.
The territory issue remains unresolved.
Russia still claims the entire Donetsk region, while Ukraine advocates maintaining the current line of contact.
US officials said both sides showed some flexibility in the closed format, but stressed that territorial issues and post-war security arrangements should be discussed in parallel - and ultimately resolved jointly.
No agreement is expected in Abu Dhabi.
The goal is to clarify positions, identify the remaining differences and create a basis for further negotiations.
Officials said the U.S. was "cautiously optimistic" and suggested that more meetings with Putin and Zelensky could come soon, depending on progress," Rapoglu wrote.