The President of Ukraine for the first time accepted the possibility of providing security guarantees not only to his country, but also to Russia within the framework of the future peace settlement. Western countries may eventually discuss Moscow's demands to provide such guarantees, Vladimir Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv. But first of all, it should be done for Ukraine, he emphasized. Zelensky's statement was made against the background of preparations for the resumption of negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi. The Financial Times calls it a significant shift in Kiev's position. until now, it and its Western allies have rejected Russia's demands for NATO protection. The fulfillment of such requirements would lead to a radical restructuring of the security architecture in Europe. Europe considers these demands to be an attempt to restore Moscow's sphere of influence and undermine the sovereignty of neighboring countries. "First we need to solve the issue of this war and only after that we should look for answers to the questions that Russia raises based on its views and expectations on security," Zelensky stated. He emphasized that Europe must definitely participate in the discussions on the post-war settlement. "We can discuss conceptual issues with the Russians with the mediation of the USA. But if we go to the format of security guarantees, and it is decided that they will require the participation of Europe, then Europe should be part of those discussions. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Støre also told Vladimir Putin about the same thing, who yesterday together with Finnish President Alexander Stubb had a conversation with the head of the Kremlin. As Storey explained, the main goal of the conversation was to convey the European position to Putin. "We were focused on the future, on what needs to happen so that this war does not continue for months without end, bringing with it human casualties... I don't think [Putin] will change his opinion [on the principles of ending the war], but our position has been presented to him very clearly. What worries me is that some of these messages don't reach him when the Americans talk to him." Moscow announces its willingness to involve the Europeans in the negotiations on Ukraine. in particular, Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy assistant, spoke about it. But in fact lies the Kremlin's old intention to achieve a NATO withdrawal to the 1997 borders or, at the very least, the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the countries of the alliance bordering Russia - Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland. from India and Estonia, "The Telegraph" reported recently, citing sources in the diplomatic offices of Western countries. According to them, Putin sees in the negotiations on the end of the war in Ukraine an opportunity to force NATO to abandon eastward expansion and even reverse the process. He made similar demands even before the invasion. Western countries are definitely not ready to make concessions to the Russian side in this matter. As for the meeting in Abu Dhabi in early November, it will be a technical negotiation on possible de-escalation measures, including an energy and maritime truce, as well as security for Ukraine. Regarding the discussion of guarantees, Zelensky said. The president, who spoke with Støre and Stubb before and after their talks with Putin, said the leaders of Norway and Finland had the impression that Moscow was taking the planned talks "seriously." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, however, called Støre's and Stubb's conversation with Putin simply "the Europeans' desire to get stuck in the negotiation process." According to him, Russia does not see "a change in Europe's approach. Europe adopts document after document, makes speech after speech, makes statement after statement condemning Russia and demanding an end to aggression, completely ignoring what started it all."