Senior leaders from the US, Ukraine, and Russia have entered the high-stakes security discussions hosted in the UAE on Friday, the first trilateral environment following the Russian full-scale attack on Ukraine more than four years ago.
The negotiations come on the heels of a meeting held between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and a delegation of Americans that took place in Russia’s capital city Moscow, wherein negotiations went on well into the wee hours of the morning under the auspices of the American envoy Mr. Steve Witkoff, with Mr. Kushner being present with him.
These talks have been useful in every respect,” the Kremlin said of this round of discussions, which face a great many hurdles before a potential bargain can be struck. The meeting in Abu Dhabi marks the first meeting of the working group’s first session, which according to the Kremlin, will focus on security. General Igor Kostyukov, the chief of the GRU military intelligence agency heads the Russian team. The American representatives came from Moscow, while the Ukrainians came separately.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the talks a step – hopefully towards ending the war” but warned that results were far from assured. He confirmed the discussions would last two days and said the status of eastern Ukraine, in particular Donbas would dominate.
Territory remains the intractable issue: Russia now controls some 20% of Ukraine and wants full control of the eastern Donbas region. Kyiv has consistently refused any peace that includes permanent territorial concessions, saying conditions of settlement would be an invitation to renewed attack.
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Ushakov reiterated that position, putting a fine point on it by saying that Moscow views a durable peace as impossible without resolving territorial questions. “Until that happens, Russia will continue to pursue its objectives on the battlefield,” he said, even while insisting the Kremlin was sincere in its interest in a diplomatic solution.
Zelenskyy, in his earlier speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said that the US-drafted peace deal was “nearly ready” to move forward. He also claimed to have reached an understanding on security guarantees after the war in Ukraine from Donald Trump. Ukraine President Zelenskyy also claimed to have the UK and France on board to contribute on-ground troops as part of the security guarantee.
The Abu Dhabi talks come at a time of increasing concern for the European powers due to the evolving US foreign policy agenda. Zelenskyy accused the European Union of lacking political determination, saying Europe risks becoming “a beautiful but fragmented kaleidoscope of small and middle powers.”
Meanwhile, the war continues unabated with its usual destructive consequences: Russian strikes on energy facilities in recent days have plunged much of Kyiv into darkness with frozen temperatures well below zero degrees centigrade. Moscow justifies the strikes as directed at Ukraine’s military-industrial potential while Kyiv describes them as war crimes against its people.
Although the expectations for a breakthrough are still modest, all diplomats involved admit that the UAE efforts are the most intensive diplomatic push to try to resolve Europe’s worst conflict since World War II.
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