ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Three-way talks among Russia, Ukraine and the United States opened Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the first such meeting since February, as Washington renews its push to end the war, NPR reported.
The two-day session will focus on security guarantees, according to the White House. Russia views NATO as a threat, while Ukraine wants to prevent future Russian invasions.
Hopes are tempered by the lack of major breakthroughs in three earlier rounds this year, and fighting has not eased. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 162 drones and a ballistic missile overnight, while Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 155 Ukrainian drones over eight regions and Crimea.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said on X that he and Steve Witkoff were working on a “negotiated solution that can deliver lasting peace and create the conditions for a sovereign, secure, and prosperous Ukraine.”
Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky said he hoped the meeting “will allow us to advance on the path towards peace.” Ukraine’s delegation is led by Rustem Umerov, head of its Foreign Intelligence Service, who first met with U.S. envoys and representatives of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission.
The sides remain far apart. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from four regions Moscow claims to have annexed in 2022 and to drop its NATO bid, NPR reported.
The war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly five years ago, has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians, according to analysts and humanitarian groups.
Sources: NPR. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Makalu / CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.
