US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine on ending more than four years of war opened in Abu Dhabi Tuesday, with Washington calling for a “new” security framework, as Europe fears US President Donald Trump plans a deal with Moscow on the continent’s future.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators sat facing each other, with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and business partner Steve Witkoff at the head of the table.
Kyiv’s delegation — headed by intelligence chief Rustem Umerov — met the US envoys as well as European and NATO officials ahead of negotiations.
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands. As another winter of war approaches, Ukraine and its European allies fear Washington will force Kyiv to accept a de facto defeat.
Trump has also floated a deal with Russia on rewriting Europe’s post-war security.
As the talks opened, Kushner said the US hoped to “create the right security relationships between Ukraine and Russia and Europe so that not only we end this war, we create a new framework and a new understanding” that will secure “decades, if not centuries, of peace”.
He conceded there was a “lot of intense emotions” in Ukraine, Russia and Europe.
Before launching its 2022 invasion, Moscow had demanded that NATO roll back troops from eastern Europe and has throughout the war aired its grievances towards the West.
Russia has, for the first time, included in its delegation a diplomat — Sergei Ryabkov — who issued an ultimatum to the West on rewriting European security before Moscow launched the war.
– ‘Merely one item’ –
The head of Moscow’s delegation, President Vladimir Putin’s nationalistic aide Vladimir Medinsky, said he hoped Moscow’s “bigger and more professional” team would “enable us to move forward on the path towards peace”.
A source in the Russian team earlier said that “the Ukrainian settlement, whilst a critically important issue, is merely one item on the agenda” of the talks.
The main objective was “the creation of a comprehensive and indivisible security architecture for the entire continent”, it added.
NATO’s general in Europe, Alexus Grynkewich, is also taking part in the talks.
In a joint statement, the Europeans, Ukraine, the US and NATO said they held a meeting before meeting Russia, reaffirming their “shared commitment to a strong post-war European security architecture”.
Europe has been alarmed by Trump’s plans, and the EU said on the eve of the talks that “meaningful” security discussions can only take place after a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Putin has refused broader ceasefires and face-to-face talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, vowing his troops will press on to seize more land in Ukraine.
– ‘Our people waiting’ –
Kyiv’s top negotiator Umerov said Ukraine’s priority in the talks remained securing a ceasefire.
“Our people are waiting to end this war,” he said.
Ukraine has resisted Russia’s invasion at a huge human cost, with thousands of civilians killed and millions forced to flee their homes.
“We hope that we will achieve a lasting peace for Ukraine,” Umerov said, saying Kyiv wanted to discuss “security guarantees”.
There is huge distrust in Ukraine towards Trump’s aims, with the US leader appearing to veer towards Moscow this year, signing a diesel deal with Putin and criticising Zelensky.
Trump hinted ahead of the talks that Ukraine might have to give up land, saying: “They’re going to end up with a little bit different shape, Ukraine.”
Russia occupies large swathes of Ukraine but, while its troops have inched westwards, they have not been able to seize the whole of the Donetsk region.
Moscow demands Kyiv surrender the parts of the region it still controls, vowing it will otherwise press on with its offensive.
Russia pummelled Ukraine in the run-up to the talks and carried out one of its deadliest strikes yet — with Kyiv saying 55 people were killed in a frontline village as they queued for humanitarian aid.
– No ‘particular expectations’ –
Zelensky said the intensified strikes were part of Moscow’s strategy of “putting pressure on Ukraine’s position” at the negotiations.
The Ukrainian military said on Tuesday that Russia had fired 162 drones and one ballistic missile overnight.
Kushner and Witkoff are bringing the enemy sides together for the first time since February, when negotiations took place in Geneva.
Russia and Ukraine have held several rounds of failed talks during almost five years of war, and hopes for peace are low.
“We don’t have any particular expectations,” a senior Ukrainian official in Kyiv told AFP.
AFP