Kushner proposes using NATO-Russia Council as basis for Ukraine talks

US presidential envoy Jared Kushner has proposed linking a peaceful settlement in Ukraine to large-scale multilateral negotiations between Russia and European countries.

This was reported by The Washington Post.

According to the publication, Kushner’s proposal consists of creating a long-term security system on the continent, including mechanisms for reducing military escalation and a permanent crisis-management dialogue.

As a model for the new security architecture, Kushner is considering the format of the NATO-Russia Council. This consultative body was created in 2002 to develop joint decisions, but in practice ceased its work in 2014 because of the crisis over Crimea and the events in eastern Ukraine.

European officials told the WP that they are ready for dialogue with Russia, but agree to discuss the security architecture only after a ceasefire is achieved in Ukraine.

The US president had earlier announced a “large-scale agreement that will affect not only Ukraine” and could cover all of Europe. He did not specify the details of the agreement or the timing of its signing.

Later, Jared Kushner said that the initiative implies concrete agreements that “take into account the security interests of all parties, reduce the risk of a future conflict and create a more stable and predictable security environment.”

Europe reacted with alarm to the US statement on a new security architecture, the Financial Times reported. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Europe was not ready to discuss a security system.