Russia Forgets About "Demilitarization" and "Denazification", Ready to Speed Up the Process in Negotiations with Ukraine
Tomorrow, November 12, Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner will once again meet with Vladimir Putin. And the statements by Medinsky, an adviser to Vladimir Putin, contrast with the tone of his earlier remarks.
Vladimir Putin and his adviser Vladimir Medinsky. Archive photo: January 27, 2024, Olga Maltseva/Pool Photo via AP
The central theme of the trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi was the discussion of the future security architecture in Europe after the end of the Ukrainian conflict, Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, told reporters.
“The world needs a new, modern, updated security system, fair, not to the detriment of any individual countries. We will work on this,” he said following the second day of negotiations. According to him, the conflict in Ukraine showed that “the current security system in Europe is not working well.”
Medinsky's statements, an adviser to Vladimir Putin, contrast with his remarks after past rounds of negotiations. In particular, there are no longer mentions of "demilitarization" and "denazification" of Ukraine — Russian "euphemisms" for submission to Russia and Russification.
Both the Russian and Lukashenka's propaganda machines have fallen silent on this.
At the same time, Medinsky, in a statement to journalists in Abu Dhabi, emphasized humanitarian issues. The parties agreed on a new large-scale prisoner exchange, the specific parameters of which will be announced in the near future.
It is announced that as many as fifteen hundred prisoners may return home. The very scale of the exchange indicates the degree of difficulties faced by the Russian army — if such a large number of servicemen fall into captivity.
From the Ukrainian side, the majority of prisoners still consist of people who fell into Russian hands in Mariupol and during the first treacherous strike.
Moscow, it seems, is demonstrating its readiness to accelerate the negotiation process.
Tomorrow, November 12, Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner will again meet with Vladimir Putin. For this, they will travel to Moscow. After that, their meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may take place. It is believed that this will happen in Dublin, Ireland.
Negotiations between the Russian Federation, the USA, and Ukraine took place in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11. On the first day, the meeting lasted about four hours, and on the second, a little less than two hours. The Ukrainian delegation was led by Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, and the Russian delegation by Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky. Also present at the negotiating table at the start were US envoys Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner, and for the first time, Alexus Grinkevich, Commander-in-Chief of NATO forces in Europe. It was reported that the negotiations would focus on discussing key aspects of forming a new security complex in the post-war period. It was expected that the meeting participants would concentrate on developing mechanisms for preventing threats and strengthening regional stability.
The increase in Russian army losses led to the halting of the Russian offensive. In 2025, Russia occupied less than 1% of Ukraine's territory at the cost of approximately 150,000 servicemen killed. Over 10 months of 2026, Russia occupied about 0.1% of the territory, with losses exceeding last year's. Such a cost of advancement may be unacceptable even for a dehumanized Russian society.
The dual rhetoric of US President Donald Trump generated hopes in the Kremlin that he would succeed in tempting Washington to divide Europe into spheres of influence in exchange for allowing American corporations access to develop Russian natural resources. The attack by the USA and Israel on Iran led to a jump in energy prices, which not only brought superprofits to American oil and gas companies but also filled the Russian military budget. However, aid from European countries compensated Ukraine for the loss of American support, and the Ukrainian army held out. And the failure of Trumpists in the congressional elections finally cast doubt on the Kremlin's hopes.
It is telling that Moscow and Washington postponed a new round of negotiations on Ukraine until after the congressional elections.
A week before the negotiations, Ukraine launched strikes on seven Russian oil refining complexes, disabling up to 30 percent of their capacity. As a result, from Monday, November 9, "Rosneft" introduced restrictions on fuel sales at all Russian gas stations. Overnight between the first and second days of negotiations, Ukraine struck Novatek's oil terminal in Ust-Luga, near St. Petersburg.
At the negotiations in Abu Dhabi, General Alexus Grinkevich, Commander of NATO forces in Europe, was present for the first time — a sign that Moscow agreed to more substantive discussions. A European delegation also arrived for the negotiations for the first time, with which the Ukrainian side coordinates its actions.
Meanwhile, Russian and Lukashenka's propaganda today emphasizes that Europeans were not allowed to the negotiating table.
“US representatives were one of the active parties in the negotiations — Europe should learn from them in their desire to achieve peace,” states the Russian report on the outcomes of the negotiations. “Moscow has not received a single concrete peace proposal from European countries. The leadership of European countries is essentially engaged in collective deception of the Ukrainian people.”
“They [Europeans] will be able to become participants in peace negotiations when their conscience awakens,” Vladimir Medinsky stated emphatically, adding, “Every inch of Russian land will, one way or another, be returned.”
American envoy Jared Kushner, in his statement to journalists, called the issue of territories the most difficult.