Ukraine negotiations reach beyond its borders, Wanner reports

Russia wants demilitarization of eastern NATO territory discussed, while Western European support remains central to the war's course, the correspondent says.

Channel: WELT Nachrichtensender ·

GermanyStory of November 13, 2026Trari Newsroom

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0:58Wanner says Abu Dhabi talks brought no breakthrough, with Donbas territory and security guarantees still unresolved.
1:52He reports that Russia wants demilitarization of eastern European NATO territory included in wider security negotiations.
4:08He argues that the positions of China, the United States and Western Europe will strongly influence the war's duration.
5:29Germany's military and financial assistance receives particular emphasis in his assessment of Western Europe's role.

The future military presence on NATO's eastern territory is part of what Moscow wants to negotiate alongside Ukraine's future, correspondent Christoph Wanner reports from Kyiv for Germany's WELT Nachrichtensender.

His assessment widens the stakes of the peace efforts: the dispute is not only about territory inside Ukraine, but also about the security arrangements of countries outside it. Wanner says Russia is demanding demilitarization of eastern European NATO territory as part of a broader reshaping of Europe's security architecture. He presents this as a major obstacle to agreement, not an accepted negotiating outcome.

The report follows talks in Abu Dhabi that Wanner says produced no breakthrough. Territory in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine and security guarantees remain the central unresolved issues. He describes Ukraine's position as a refusal to withdraw voluntarily from territory it still holds.

The studio introduction places the discussion alongside meetings in Dublin between European Union leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Wanner's contribution examines what US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are likely to discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow; it does not report an agreement from those discussions.

Asked how long the war can continue, Wanner offers no timetable. Instead, he identifies China, the United States and Western Europe as three outside actors whose positions will strongly influence its course. For the German audience, his emphasis is particularly direct: Western Europe's support, including Germany's military and financial assistance, has a central role in determining what happens next.

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