The first day of US mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi ended with cautious optimism, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the discussions as “constructive and quite substantive”. The two-day meeting, the first direct negotiation between the warring sides since February, focused on humanitarian issues, prisoner exchanges, the return of civilians and children, and possible security guarantees for Ukraine, according to Al Jazeera News
The talks come more than four and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Washington has renewed its efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since the Second World War, with President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, leading the mediation.
Kushner said the negotiations had identified and narrowed some differences between Moscow and Kyiv. He told delegates that the United States hoped to build a new framework for peace, one that could endure “for decades, if not centuries”.
Ukraine’s delegation was led by Rustem Umerov, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, while Russia sent presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. Umerov thanked the United States for its efforts and said the Ukrainian people were waiting for a lasting peace. Medinsky expressed hope that the talks would advance peace in the interests of both nations.
Yet analysts remain sceptical. Ilya Timtchenko of the Center for European Policy Analysis said the two sides’ positions remain far apart, and that no agreement is likely to emerge from the first round of discussions. He also noted that the incoming US Congress could influence the timing and shape of any proposed deal.
Europe’s role has become a central issue. Before the main talks, Ukrainian officials met separately with representatives from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, NATO and the European Union, along with the two American envoys. European leaders insist that no lasting peace can be secure without addressing the continent’s wider security.consilium.
Russia, however, has resisted giving Europe a seat at the trilateral table. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the negotiations were agreed as a three-way format between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, although European representatives may join at a later stage.
In Paris, G7 foreign ministers met to discuss Ukraine and Iran, but failed to reach a unified position. The meeting exposed growing differences between Washington and its European allies over how to pursue peace and whether Ukraine’s territorial integrity can be protected.
The hardest question remains territory. Ukraine wants Russian forces pushed back to the pre-war border, while President Vladimir Putin seeks control of all of Ukraine’s Donbas region. Russia occupies roughly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and parts of eastern Donbas.
A US official said both sides had privately shown some flexibility on occupied land, but any territorial agreement would likely come only after broader issues, including post-war security guarantees, had been settled.
For now, Abu Dhabi has offered dialogue rather than a deal. Yet after nearly five years of war, even a constructive conversation may be a small but meaningful step towards peace.
