US brokers first Russia-Ukraine peace talks since February in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Russia, Ukraine and the United States opened three-way talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday in a new American push to end the war that followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor nearly five years ago.

The two-day session is the first meeting in that format since February. Russian and Ukrainian delegations held nearly four hours of U.S.-mediated talks on the first day, The Associated Press reported.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, led the American delegation. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and NATO’s top military commander, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, also took part.

Security guarantees

The White House said before the talks that the session would focus on future security guarantees for both countries. “We expect to cover security guarantees and then also, with regard to long-term security architecture between Russia and Europe, how to reduce future conflicts,” a U.S. official said, according to The National.

Kushner said the goal was to “take what’s worked” and identify what has failed in order to create a framework that could lead to “decades, if not centuries, of peace.”

At a briefing Monday, an unnamed U.S. official said both sides had shown some flexibility on territorial issues in closed-door discussions.

Who is at the table

Ukraine’s delegation is led by Rustem Umerov, head of the country’s Foreign Intelligence Service, who thanked the United States for its efforts. Russia’s chief negotiator is Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin who has led Moscow’s team since the first direct talks in Istanbul in March 2022.

Before the three-way session, Ukraine’s team met with the U.S. envoys and representatives of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission. Russia objected to Europeans taking part in the trilateral talks but said they could join at a later stage.

Trump met Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy of Putin, at the White House on Nov. 5.

Fighting continues

There were no signs the fighting was easing. Russia launched 162 drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force said. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 155 Ukrainian drones over eight Russian regions and Crimea.

The two armies remain largely deadlocked along the front line. Russia is demanding major territorial concessions, including Ukraine’s withdrawal from the eastern Donbas region. Kyiv has ruled out surrendering territory and insists on strong guarantees against future Russian aggression.

A changed backdrop

There was nothing to suggest a breakthrough was imminent, but the AP reported that the circumstances surrounding the talks have shifted with the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections and increased pressure on Russia’s wartime economy.

Some in the European Union see Washington’s proposals as too accommodating to Moscow. Supporters of the administration’s approach argue that only direct U.S. engagement with both sides can end the war.

The last round of trilateral talks, held in Geneva in February, ended without agreement. The two countries have exchanged hundreds of prisoners through UAE mediation since the war began. The talks were scheduled to continue Wednesday.

Analysts and humanitarian organizations estimate that the war has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called the Donbas issue key to any settlement. European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said before the talks that the European Union would be represented alongside its partners in the parallel meetings in Abu Dhabi.