Washington and Moscow restore military dialogue amid Ukraine peace talks

(Horizon Weekly) — The United States and Russia have agreed to resume high-level military communications for the first time since 2021, according to the U.S. European Command.

The agreement was reached in Abu Dhabi during Russia–Ukraine–U.S. peace talks, where the commander of U.S. European Command, General Alexus G. Grynkewich, held meetings with senior Russian and Ukrainian military officials.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, also participated in the trilateral discussions aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Direct communication between top U.S. and Russian military leaders had been suspended in late 2021, shortly before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In a statement, U.S. European Command stressed that maintaining dialogue between armed forces is essential for global stability and peace, noting that such engagement promotes transparency and helps reduce tensions.

The statement further indicated that Grynkewich, in his role as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, is authorized to conduct military dialogue with Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov.

Since the outbreak of the war, contacts between Washington and Moscow have remained limited, largely confined to occasional phone calls between defence ministers and military chiefs.

According to the DPA news agency, Trump is working to rebuild bilateral relations at multiple levels. He has held several phone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and met with him in Alaska in August 2025.