(AFP) – Three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US opened in Abu Dhabi, the UAE said Friday, as Moscow stated it is not dropping its demand that Kyiv pull out of its eastern Donbas region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that territory remains the key issue and will be on the agenda for the talks. These are the first direct public negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv regarding a plan being pushed by US President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year-long war.
“The talks commenced today in Abu Dhabi and are scheduled to continue over two days, as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis,” the UAE foreign ministry stated. High-level teams from the three countries gathered for the negotiations a day after Trump met with Zelensky in Davos, and hours after US envoy Steve Witkoff held late-night talks with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. The Emirates meeting comes as thousands of people in Kyiv are without heating in sub-zero temperatures due to Russian strikes. The EU, which has sent hundreds of generators to the war-torn country, has accused Moscow of “deliberately depriving civilians of heat.”
Before the talks began, Kyiv reported that Russian strikes had killed three people Friday in the Kharkiv region and four people— including a father and his five-year-old son—overnight in the east. While diplomacy to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II has gained pace, Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds, appearing to be in a deadlock over the issue of territory. Hours after Putin met Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Moscow, the Kremlin reiterated that its maximalist demand for Kyiv to withdraw from the eastern Donbas region still stands. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, “Russia’s position is well known on the fact that Ukraine, Ukrainian armed forces, have to leave the territory of the Donbas,” adding, “This is a very important condition.”
Kyiv, which still controls around 20 percent of the eastern region, has deemed such terms unacceptable. Germany, a Ukraine ally, expressed that it still had “major questions” regarding whether Moscow was willing to compromise. Both sides agree that the fate of territory in Ukraine’s east is one of the main outstanding issues in the search for a resolution to a war that has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and decimated eastern Ukraine.
“The Donbas is a key issue,” Zelensky remarked, noting that he and Trump had agreed on post-war security guarantees in Davos. He told reporters on Friday, ahead of the talks, “God willing (the talks will lead) to ending the war,” while also cautioning, “It could go differently, but it’s a step.” After speaking with the head of his delegation, Rustem Umerov, Zelensky mentioned that the exact formats of the meetings had yet to be set.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators last met face-to-face in Istanbul last summer, concluding only in agreements to exchange captured soldiers. The Abu Dhabi meeting marks the first time they have faced each other to discuss the Trump administration’s plan. Along with security chief Umerov, Kyiv’s team includes Zelensky’s new chief-of-staff Kyrylo Budanov, negotiator David Arakhamia, and ground army chief Andriy Gnatov. Moscow is sending General Igor Kostyukov—director of its GRU military intelligence agency—as part of an all-military delegation. The Kremlin also stated that its economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev would be present to hold separate Russia-US talks with Witkoff, who is leading the American side, and Kushner.
Putin has repeatedly insisted that Moscow intends to gain full control of eastern Ukraine by force if talks fail. After the Russia-US discussions in the Kremlin, Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov claimed Moscow was “genuinely interested in resolving” the war diplomatically. However, he added, “Until that happens, Russia will continue to achieve its objectives… on the battlefield.” A source familiar with the planned talks informed AFP that the role of the United States would be crucial to how they progress. “A lot will depend on the position of the Americans,” they stated. Trump has previously pressured Ukraine to agree to terms that Kyiv views as capitulation. Trump reiterated on Wednesday his belief that Putin and Zelensky are close to a deal. “I believe they’re at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done. And if they don’t, they’re stupid—that goes for both of them,” he remarked.
© 2024 AFP
