Russia and Ukraine resume US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi.
Moscow’s demand for Donbas remains a major obstacle.
Discussions also cover prisoner exchanges and European security.
Russia and Ukraine resumed US-brokered peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday after a nine-month gap. However, fresh Russian strikes and disagreements over territory remain major obstacles to reaching a settlement.
The talks brought together Russian and Ukrainian delegations, with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff helping facilitate the discussions.
Fresh Russian attacks on Ukraine just hours before the meeting highlighted the challenges facing the negotiations. One of the main sticking points is Moscow’s demand that Kyiv give up the entire Donbas region, a condition Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov declined to assess the progress made during the discussions, Interfax reported.
“It is too early to talk about that,” Ryabkov told reporters. He confirmed that the negotiations were scheduled to continue on Wednesday.
The White House also hopes to use the talks to persuade Moscow to agree to broader negotiations involving key European representatives.
Russia Wants To Address European Security Concerns
Ahead of the trilateral discussions, US President Donald Trump’s envoys Witkoff and Kushner met officials from Germany, France, the UK and Italy, along with representatives of NATO and the European Union, in the UAE. The discussions focused on possible security guarantees and the future security framework between Russia and Europe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Abu Dhabi discussions also covered the possibility of a “large-scale exchange of prisoners”. He added that US officials would take the proposal to Russia for further discussions.
Moscow, meanwhile, wants broader European security arrangements to be addressed as part of efforts to end the war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a framework for Europe's future security should be established before negotiators turn to the specific issues in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“The idea of defining clear parameters for a future security architecture, and only then moving on to resolving the actual Russia-Ukraine conflict, is absolutely reasonable,” Lavrov said in Moscow, according to DW.
The talks mark a renewed diplomatic effort to end the war, but major differences remain over territory and Europe’s future security arrangements. Whether Washington can persuade Moscow and Kyiv to move closer to a settlement will become clearer as negotiations continue
