Lavrov backs Kushner's idea of a new European security architecture

Lavrov's statement

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, following a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the CSTO, backed the idea of first formulating clear parameters for a future security architecture in Europe and only then moving to settling the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. “The idea of formulating clear parameters for a future security architecture and only then moving to settling the Russian-Ukrainian conflict itself is absolutely reasonable,” TASS quotes him as saying (report by Gazeta.Ru).

Context: talks in Abu Dhabi and Kushner's position

The statement came against the backdrop of trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, which are taking place on November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi. The idea itself belongs to US President's son-in-law Jared Kushner: on November 7 he published a post on the social network X, in which he claimed that Washington was holding “productive and substantive” talks with Ukraine, NATO and European representatives on security guarantees for Ukraine and the architecture of European security. In his assessment, a stable security system in the region has failed to be created for more than 30 years, and the situation is complicated by “decades of distrust” and conflicting interests in the security sphere.

Europe's position

Lavrov's support contrasts with the position of some European partners: earlier, the German Foreign Minister stated that Europe does not need a new security architecture. Thus, different approaches have emerged within the discussion — the American side is promoting the idea of a new system of guarantees, Moscow supports it, while Berlin, according to available reports, rejects it. The content of the talks in Abu Dhabi and the reaction of Kyiv and European capitals to Lavrov's statement are not yet reported in available publications.