Talks between Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. diplomats began Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, as Washington looks to find a peaceful solution to Moscow’s nearly five-year-long invasion.
Tuesday marks the first time representatives from the U.S., Russia and Ukraine have sat down for trilateral talks since February.
Representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission met ahead of the Russia to align positions and discuss the next stages of diplomatic talks.
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“Participants emphasized that any future arrangements must respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, independent decision-making, and provide credible security guarantees for Ukraine,” Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and a member of the U.S. delegation, said in a statement.
The two-day talks will focus on crafting security guarantees for Ukraine that satisfy both sides, a U.S. official said, adding that Washington had asked Moscow to accept provisions modeled on NATO’s Articles 4 and 5.
Tuesday’s security-focused talks build on negotiations last week in Brussels between Ukrainian, European and U.S. representatives, which also focused on post-war guarantees for Kyiv.
Mr. Trump last week floated a large-scale security agreement that could involve all of Europe, not just Ukraine.
Washington also wants Russia to agree to multilateral conversations that include European leaders, something Moscow has resisted in the past.
The U.S. team in Abu Dhabi is led by White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr. Kushner. Both men have been in direct contact with Russian and Ukrainian leaders over the past two years.
The Ukrainian delegation is led by Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, and Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Office of the President.
Vladimir Medinsky, an influential aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, will head the Russian party with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Mr. Medinsky said ahead of the meeting that he hopes Ukraine will “allow us to advance on the path towards peace.”
U.S. officials said they are having almost daily conversations with Russia and Ukraine about how to end the war, and both sides have shown flexibility toward certain concessions.
U.S. officials said they did not expect Tuesday’s discussions to resolve every outstanding issue between Russia and Ukraine. But the meeting could provide both sides with an opportunity to outline their positions. After which, real negotiations can begin.
Previous rounds of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have not proved productive, as both sides remain far apart on difficult territorial and security issues. Namely, Ukraine has urged Russia to accept a ceasefire while negotiations take place, but Russia has resisted, asserting that Kyiv would use the time to rebuild for a counterattack.
Russia has also demanded Ukraine give up at least four of its territories that were annexed by Moscow in 2022 but have never been fully captured. Mr. Putin has also ruled out Ukraine ever joining NATO and has shown extreme resistance to allowing European forces to move into the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his part, has rejected ceding any territory to Russia and has ruled out agreeing to any restrictions on Ukraine’s military.
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