Zelensky Wants Abu Dhabi Talks Before ‘New Yalta,’ Warns NATO Against Russian Demands

Ukraine wants to meet with US and Russian delegations in Abu Dhabi before any proposed talks between Washington, Moscow and Beijing, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, warning that Russia could use renewed peace negotiations to seek concessions on NATO’s military presence in Europe. Speaking to journalists on Monday, Zelensky said the agenda for a potential US-China-Russia meeting remained unclear but would likely include the Middle East and Russia’s war against Ukraine, RBC-Ukraine reported.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “I really don’t want this to be ‘Yalta 2, 3, 4,’ when influence is being redistributed,” Zelensky said, referring to the 1945 Yalta Conference, where the leaders of the Soviet Union, United States and United Kingdom discussed the postwar order in Europe. He argued that today’s fragmented, technologically advanced world was fundamentally different from the one that emerged after World War II, making a similar redistribution of power impossible. “After Alaska, this would be Russia’s second major diplomatic advantage if things unfold as the Russians are currently suggesting, with their talk of a new ‘Yalta.’ I think Russia wants it more than anyone else,” Zelensky said. He added that China had the least to gain from such a meeting. “We would very much like our meeting in Abu Dhabi to take place before that,” he said. Other Topics of Interest Trump Says Putin-Zelensky Meeting Will Be Arranged ‘Very Soon,’ Claims Progress on Ukraine Peace Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has confirmed a leaders’ summit as Washington prepares for trilateral negotiations in November. Russia may seek NATO concessions in peace talks Zelensky also warned NATO against accepting Russian demands to roll back the alliance’s military presence to its 1997 configuration while Moscow continues its war against Ukraine. His remarks follow an Oct. 25 report by The Telegraph, which cited diplomatic sources as saying Moscow could use renewed peace talks to secure concessions on NATO enlargement and military deployments near Russia’s borders. According to the report, a potential Russian demand could involve withdrawing NATO forces from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland, all of which border Russia. The reported demand has not been confirmed as an official Russian negotiating position, and there is no indication that a NATO rollback has formally been added to the talks’ agenda. The Kremlin has nevertheless signaled that it wants a broader discussion of European security. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 22 that future negotiations should address security guarantees for both Russia and Ukraine, as well as the “architecture of European security as a whole.” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov has also argued that European countries should be involved in negotiations to end the war. Zelensky said on Monday, Oct. 27, that Moscow’s security demands went beyond preventing Ukrainian attacks and amounted to an attempt to secure a separate agreement with NATO or the United States. “They say: ‘If you want security guarantees for Ukraine, then we want them for Russia.’ We need to understand what Russia means by this. It is not simply about Ukraine refraining from striking Russia. For them, this is a much broader and more specific issue,” he said. The president said discussions about broad security guarantees for Russia should wait until the terms for ending the war and Ukraine’s own security arrangements were clear. “First, we need to resolve the issues related to this war, and only then seek answers to the questions Russia raises based on its own perceptions and expectations of security,” Zelensky said. Moscow’s 1997 demands date back to before the invasion Russia’s push to change NATO’s military posture in Europe predates its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In December 2021, Moscow presented the United States and NATO with draft security agreements that sought to halt further alliance enlargement, including Ukraine’s potential accession, and restrict military deployments in countries that joined NATO after May 1997. NATO rejected Russia’s attempt to restrict its open-door policy, while saying it remained willing to discuss arms control and other security issues. A return to NATO’s 1997 military configuration could have significant implications for the alliance’s eastern flank. Poland joined NATO in 1999, the Baltic states joined in 2004, and Finland became a member in 2023 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Zelensky said Russia’s renewed demands could reshape the wider European security architecture. He suggested Moscow had raised similar issues in talks with then-US President Joe Biden before launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022. He argued that NATO members should determine the alliance’s military posture themselves, without negotiating those arrangements with Russia, which is not a member. “Any retreat, any rollback of security, is a weakness for the alliance,” he said. Trilateral talks could resume in November The diplomatic maneuvering comes as Ukraine, Russia and the United States prepare to resume technical-level negotiations after a lengthy pause. On Oct. 23, Zelensky said the next round of talks was expected in the first half of November, with Abu Dhabi among the possible venues. On Oct. 25, Ushakov said Moscow was ready to resume negotiations after Russia’s Nov. 4 National Unity Day holiday, describing the next meeting as preliminary and exploratory. The format and participants remain unsettled, including whether European representatives will take part in a broader discussion of continental security. Kyiv has insisted that any settlement must include credible security guarantees for Ukraine and prevent Russia from using a pause in hostilities to prepare for another attack. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.