In Abu Dhabi, the first day of trilateral negotiations between the US, Russia, and Ukraine to put an end to the conflict in that country has come to a conclusion.
After the four-hour negotiations, which are scheduled to resume on Wednesday, senior officials from Kyiv and Moscow remained silent. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was not there, said the meetings had been “very productive.”
US officials previously stated that Moscow and Kyiv were privately displaying “a little bit of flexibility” on the question of who would rule Ukraine’s eastern region, despite the minimal likelihood of a breakthrough ending Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| What Happened | US-led peace talks between Russia and Ukraine |
| Location | Abu Dhabi |
| Key US Representatives | Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff |
| Main Issue | Territorial disputes and security guarantees |
| Disputed Region | Donetsk, eastern Ukraine |
| Countries Involved | United States, Russia and Ukraine |
| Current Status | No final peace agreement reached |
| Main Objective | Find a diplomatic solution to end the war |
US, Russia and Ukraine Seek Peace
Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, told participants at the beginning of Tuesday’s negotiations that the United States had “narrowed the gaps” between the two sides and intended to move toward a “solution that hopefully ends the war” without giving specifics.
Kushner had stated that the “postwar security concerns” of both Russia and Ukraine will be the main focus of the discussions.
On the fringes of the main gathering, he met with officials from Ukraine, Europe, and NATO alongside Trump’s peace envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Until recently, European politicians have been mainly left out of peace negotiations, but they have sought to be involved.
Russia and Ukraine Remain Divided
But a US official claimed that “the Russians have a bad taste in their mouth with the Europeans.”
Moscow frequently rejects several measures that are supported by EU leaders, such as demanding an absolute ceasefire as a precondition for peace talks. Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, stated on Tuesday that a ceasefire would only let Kyiv reorganize. “We will not agree to it,” he said.
When it comes to putting an end to the conflict, Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart.
Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, which is mostly under Russian occupation, is a major point of contention.
Security Guarantees Complicate Peace Talks
The US official commenting on the day of the negotiations said that Moscow and Kyiv had demonstrated “a little bit of flexibility, privately” and that this was only the public position, even though neither side had compromised on these requests.
He did concede, though, that talks on a new “security architecture” were necessary to resolve the problem.Until they know what the post-war security architecture will be, they won’t be able to resolve the territorial and Donetsk issues,” the official stated. “And keep in mind, we’re not going to be able to finalize one without the other.”
US Pushes New Security Framework for Peace
Security consultations, crisis communications hotlines, and “reciprocal de-escalation measures” between the two are all part of the proposed framework. The re-activation of the NATO-Russia Council, which has been essentially suspended since 2022, was another suggestion made by the officials.
There was little progress made at the most recent round of trilateral negotiations, which took place in Geneva in February. Washington’s focus on Ukraine was quickly distracted by the US-Israel attack on Iran, and no more talks have taken place since.
US President Donald Trump, who once said he could put an end to the conflict in Ukraine in a day, has been in office since the beginning of his second term.
