Ukraine, Russia, US meet in Abu Dhabi for war talks
Several rounds of diplomacy between the parties have led to World War II, which began with Europe’s invasion of Russia in February 2022. No agreement has been reached on ending the deadliest conflict since World War II.
A massive Russian drone and missile bombardment that hit Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of talks, knocking out electricity and heating in temperatures well below freezing, threatened to overshadow any chances of progress in the Emirati capital.
“Each such attack by Russia confirms that attitudes in Moscow have not changed: they continue to bet on war and the destruction of Ukraine and do not take diplomacy seriously,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday. he said.
“The work of our negotiation team will be adjusted accordingly,” he said, without going into details.
The main sticking point is the long-term fate of the lands in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow demands that Kiev withdraw its troops from Donbas’ territory, including well-fortified cities with vast natural resources, as a precondition for any agreement. He also wants international recognition that the lands seized during the occupation belong to Russia.
Kiev said the conflict should be frozen on the current front line and rejected a unilateral withdrawal of forces.
The talks, which were scheduled to last Wednesday and Thursday, were postponed from last weekend due to what the Kremlin called scheduling problems between the three parties.
-‘Prepare for the worst’-
The Ukrainian delegation will be led by Security Council chief Rustam Umerov, a shrewd negotiator hailed by his colleagues as someone who works diplomatic “wonders.”
Russia’s chief negotiator will be military intelligence director Igor Kostyukov, a naval officer sanctioned in the West for his role in the invasion of Ukraine.
At a previous round of talks in Abu Dhabi last month, the U.S. team was led by President Donald Trump’s ubiquitous envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Russia, which occupies about 20 percent of its neighbor, has threatened to take the rest of the Donetsk region if negotiations fail.
Ukraine has warned that giving up territory would embolden Moscow and that it would not sign an agreement that would dissuade Russia from re-invading.
Kyiv currently controls about one-fifth of the Donetsk region.
According to AFP’s analysis, at Russia’s current rate of advance it will take another 18 months for Moscow’s army to conquer them all; However, areas that remain under Ukrainian control also include heavily fortified urban centres.
Russia also claims the Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions as its own, and holds territory in at least three other Ukrainian regions to the east.
According to opinion polls, the majority of Ukrainians are against an agreement to give Moscow territory in exchange for peace.
Many Ukrainians find the idea of giving up territory their soldiers have defended for years unreasonable.
On the battlefield, Russia is making gains at enormous human cost, hoping it can outlast and outgun Kiev’s stretched army.
Zelensky is pushing his Western backers to increase their own arms supplies and put economic and political pressure on the Kremlin to end the invasion.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without heat and electricity in Ukraine’s capital this year after major Russian attacks severely damaged Kiev’s energy grid.
After the first round of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi last month, Ukrainians were skeptical that any agreement could be reached with Moscow.
“I think this is just a public demonstration,” Petro, who lives in Kiev, told AFP.
“We must prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”
