The United States and Russia have agreed to re-establish high-level military contacts for the first time since 2021, the U.S. European Command said on Thursday.

The agreement came on the sidelines of trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi, aiming to settle the war in Ukraine, where the command’s General Alexus G. Grynkewich met high-ranking Russian and Ukrainian military officials.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also took part in the talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

The channel of communication between top U.S. and Russian military representatives was cut in late 2021, shortly before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“Maintaining dialogue between militaries is an important factor in global stability and peace, which can only be achieved through strength, and provides a means for increased transparency and de-escalation,” the U.S. European Command said.

“This channel will provide a consistent military-to-military contact as the parties continue to work towards a lasting peace,” the statement continued.

Mr Grynkewich also has existing authorities to maintain military dialogue with Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of NATO forces in Europe, the statement noted.

This is intended “to avoid miscalculation and to provide a means for avoiding unintended escalation by either side.”

Moscow and Washington have only had limited contact—consisting of telephone calls between defence ministers and chiefs of staff—since the beginning of the Ukraine war in 2022.

Mr Trump is re-establishing bilateral contacts at various levels. He has spoken to Mr Putin several times on the phone and met the Russian president in Alaska in August 2025.

The U.S. president is pushing to end the war, but despite the latest talks, there is still no ceasefire in sight.

(dpa/NAN)