Ekaterina Girnyk08:57, 14.11.26

Trump’s representatives backed the Kremlin’s long-standing demand to discuss all issues “in one fell swoop.”

Vladimir Putin must certainly be very pleased with the outcome of the latest round of US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi , as Donald Trump’s representatives offered him exactly what he wanted: the opportunity to drag out the process.

According to Politico , the goal Washington and Moscow apparently agreed on is to address all issues “in one fell swoop.” And then, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, explained to reporters, “find a way to resolve them simultaneously.”

Thus, there will be no step-by-step approach—which experienced diplomats typically consider key to the success of any peace negotiations. The idea of ​​starting with a ceasefire or—which requires painstaking work—breaking down complex issues into manageable tasks to gradually move forward while building confidence and trust between the parties also becomes impossible, Politico writes.

Of course, Russia and the US cannot reach such a deal alone. Ukraine will have a say, and European leaders have already rejected any attempts by the White House and the Kremlin to reshape the continent’s security architecture.

However, the Kremlin has long sought to coerce the United States into a “let’s discuss everything at once” strategy. This approach allows “to distract attention from what is really the core issue, namely, the war in Ukraine,” notes Eugene Rumer, who served on the National Intelligence Council under President Barack Obama.

As the publication points out, Putin has long used peace talks as a tool to stall for time, sow confusion, and wear down his opponents, while continuing to act as he pleases. He consistently insists, however, that all issues are interconnected and must be resolved simultaneously.

“Trying to solve everything at once actually means that nothing will be solved. But that’s precisely the idea,” Politico writes.

As a result, negotiations can be used as a tool of war: to distract attention, buy time, gain room to maneuver, or mislead those who sincerely believe in the possibility of dialogue.

But, in essence, Moscow’s “red lines” haven’t changed one iota in the years since the full-scale invasion began. They demand guarantees that Kyiv will never join NATO, will remain geopolitically neutral, and will be deprived of the right to independently determine its own destiny, while imposing strict restrictions on the volume of weapons and the size of its army. Furthermore, Moscow wants Crimea and the four eastern regions it considers part of the Russian Federation to receive international recognition as such.

And until then – as Putin’s “favorite historian” Vladimir Medinsky stated – Russia will continue to wage war.

Russia’s demands in the negotiations

According to the NYT, Russia is insisting on halting further NATO expansion and withdrawing the Alliance’s troops and military bases to the positions they occupied before 1997. This includes its military presence in Poland and the Baltic states.

A separate clause concerns the cessation of Western arms and military equipment supplies to Kyiv. Regarding Ukraine’s European integration, Moscow allows its accession to the EU only on the condition that Kyiv withdraws from the EU’s common defense policy.

(c)UNIAN 2026