After Months-Long Pause, Ukraine Peace Talks Resume in Abu Dhabi as Positions Remain Far Apart
Disputes over eastern Ukraine
Moscow wants Kyiv to give up the parts of Donetsk it still controls. Ukraine, by contrast, wants the current line of contact frozen so it can retain those areas, which Kyiv considers important to its future security.
US officials said Russia and Ukraine have shown “a little bit of flexibility” privately on who would control the eastern regions after the war. They also acknowledged that resolving the issue would require discussions on a new security structure.
Security and Europe’s role
For Ukraine, future security arrangements could include assurances that allies would help if Russia attacked again. Russia has long sought a Nato retreat from eastern Europe, a prospect that would alarm European governments.
European officials are concerned that Moscow could reach a security agreement with Washington without them. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for Nato allies and EU members to take part in meaningful discussions, while President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called for Europe to be included.
Talks resume after Geneva
The previous trilateral meeting, held in Geneva in February, ended without a breakthrough. The US-Israel war on Iran then drew Washington’s attention away from Ukraine, and no further discussions took place before the planned Abu Dhabi meeting.
The US delegation includes Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Ukraine is sending senior figures involved in earlier negotiations, including Foreign Intelligence Service head Rustem Umerov, Zelensky’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov and MP Davyd Arakhamiya.
Doubts over prospects for agreement
Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Merezhko told the BBC he believes Trump wants a quick deal “at the expense of Ukraine,” which Kyiv would reject. Kushner said the Abu Dhabi talks could at most build momentum for a later stage of negotiations.
The talks are taking place as Ukraine reels from a Russian strike on a village in Zaporizhzhia last week that killed at least 40 people. The fifth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion is approaching.
Key points
- Moscow wants Ukraine to relinquish parts of Donetsk, while Kyiv seeks to freeze the current contact line.
- European leaders are pressing to be included in discussions about Europe’s future security arrangements.
- The February Geneva talks ended without a breakthrough, and Kushner said Abu Dhabi could build momentum for later negotiations.