That places the burden of proof on the delegations meeting next week, and it leaves European capitals in the position of being consulted rather than negotiating.
The United States believes the trilateral format for talks on resolving the Ukraine conflict could eventually be widened to include Washington's European allies, according to TASS. Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, made the point in a post on X ahead of next week's talks in Abu Dhabi involving representatives of Russia, the US and Ukraine.
Kushner wrote that all parties remain intensely engaged in preparing for substantive and productive negotiations. He said Washington would consult closely with European partners on the sidelines and, if progress is made, aim to move toward a broader multilateral format with their direct participation. He added that the ideas under discussion continue to evolve and that thoughtful input is welcome, describing the right structure as critical to ending the war and to a transition toward conditions that make a durable peace possible.
According to the TASS report, Reuters said on 2 November that Kushner and US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to represent the United States at the Abu Dhabi talks on 10-11 November. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the negotiations would address mutual security guarantees for Russia and Ukraine, and that Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky will lead Moscow's delegation. Peskov had previously said European representatives could not take part because a trilateral format had been agreed at the outset.
The sequencing matters. Kushner's remarks do not promise a European seat at the table in Abu Dhabi; they hold out the prospect of one only if the trilateral round produces progress. That places the burden of proof on the delegations meeting next week, and it leaves European capitals in the position of being consulted rather than negotiating. Peskov's earlier insistence on the agreed trilateral format suggests Moscow is not yet prepared to widen the room, whatever Washington's longer-term aim may be.
The stated agenda of mutual security guarantees is the substantive core. If the talks address guarantees for both Russia and Ukraine, the question of who underwrites them becomes unavoidable, and that question points directly at the European allies Kushner says Washington will consult. A format that begins with three parties and widens later may be a practical way to start, but it defers the hardest issue of participation until after an initial round whose outcome is unknown.
Much remains unconfirmed. The report does not say which European states might join a broader format, on what terms, or on what timetable. It gives no indication of the substance of the security guarantees under discussion, nor of the level of European involvement in the sidelines consultations. Whether the Abu Dhabi round produces the progress that Kushner sets as the condition for widening the format is not yet known. For now, the significance lies in the fact that Washington has publicly described a path from trilateral talks to a wider table, and has tied that path to results.
