U.S. envoys began two days of talks with Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, November 10.
Jared Kushner, who is heading up the U.S. team alongside Steve Witkoff, said recent discussions with both delegations had “really identified” and “narrowed the gaps” between their positions.
Putin with Military in 2018 Creative Commons Image
Putin Meeting with Duma 2018 Creative Commons Photo
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began more than four-and-a-half years ago, and Russian forces currently occupy around a fifth of the country, Reuters reported.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that both Ukraine and Russia were “tired of seeing dead young soldiers.”
Kyiv: ‘Our Priority is Ending Fighting’
Ukraine’s foreign intelligence chief Rustem Umerov is heading Kyiv’s team. “Our key priorities are ending the fighting, securing reliable postwar security guarantees, ensuring Ukraine’s economic recovery and development, and taking humanitarian steps,” he wrote on Telegram ahead of the talks.
Kyiv wants to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, reopen shipping routes in the Black Sea and conduct more prisoner swaps, DW reported.
Unnamed U.S. officials said talks would focus on providing security guarantees for Ukraine similar to NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his delegation would “propose de-escalatory steps” during the talks. He also called for a meeting with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in his nightly video address on Monday.
Following his November 10 conversation with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Zelenskyy said both sides needed to approach the negotiations constructively, adding: “It is essential that Russia take the same approach.”
Moscow Still Demanding Ukrainian Land
Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Putin, is heading Russia’s team. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday the talks would focus on “security issues concerning Russia, Ukraine and the region as a whole,” ABC News reported.
A source close to the Russian delegation said a deal with Kyiv was secondary to “the creation of a comprehensive and indivisible security architecture for the entire continent,” Reuters reported.
Moscow wants Ukrainian forces to totally withdraw from areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, including areas Russia has failed to occupy.
But Putin also wants Kyiv to abandon its bid to join NATO and limit its military. Zelenskyy refuses to surrender any Ukrainian land or limit his country’s military. Kyiv wants an immediate ceasefire, but Putin argues that this would allow Ukrainian forces to rearm, the Associated Press reported.
European Officials Meet Ahead of UAE Talks
Officials from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the EU and NATO met with the U.S. and Ukrainian teams ahead of the talks with Russia.
They said any future deals must “respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, independent decision-making, and provide credible security guarantees for Ukraine,” in a joint statement published by U.S. envoy Witkoff.
The participants reaffirmed that “a strong NATO will remain central” to the European security arrangements under discussion.
Kushner said on Monday that a lasting settlement would also require “direct engagement between Russia and our European partners on the broader security arrangements that affect them.”
Russia has been reluctant to involve Europe in the trilateral talks.
“The problem is that Russia is not respecting these agreements,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday at a G7 foreign ministers meeting, The Guardian reported.
Geneva talks in February failed to produce any breakthrough. However, a previous meeting in Abu Dhabi resulted in a prisoner exchange of 157 prisoners from each side–314 in total.
“Simply the fact that trilateral talks are being resumed can be counted as a success,” Ukrainian delegate Davyd Arakhamia said. But he downplayed chances of a breakthrough in an interview with DW.
Russian Attacks Hit Five Power Substations
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 162 drones and one Iskander-M ballistic missile overnight. By around 7.30 a.m. local time, 135 had been intercepted.
Iskander-M. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
At least nine people have been killed and 39 injured across Ukraine in the last day as a result of Russian attacks, according to The Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said five power substations used to transfer electricity between regions had been hit. Damage was reported in the regions of Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia and Kirovohrad.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that 155 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over eight regions in Russia and occupied Crimea overnight.
About the Author: Georgia Gilholy
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
