Russia-Ukraine War Trilateral Peace Talks End Without Progress
Russia keeps attacking Ukraine as peace negotiations mediated by the US come to a standstill, casting doubt on short-term diplomacy.
As Russia continues to attack Ukraine, the first trilateral peace negotiations between the US, Ukraine, and Russia have ended without a definitive agreement.
The two-day gathering in Abu Dhabi came to an end when Russian strikes overnight left at least 35 people injured and one person dead, according to Ukrainian officials. The assaults were deemed “brutal” and “cynically” directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who also said that the peace process was also affected.
The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, described the negotiations as “constructive” and said they addressed a variety of topics pertaining to bringing the conflict to a conclusion. He stated in a letter on X that all parties had decided to report back to their leaders and plan the next course of action, and that a follow-up meeting might happen as early as next week.
Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington have not held direct three-way negotiations until the Abu Dhabi meeting. Zelensky stated that possible terms for resolving the disagreement, such as American supervision and monitoring to ensure security, were the main focus.
According to the Russian state news agency RIA, Moscow is still amenable to additional communication. But ongoing bombing has cast doubt on Russia’s diplomatic commitment. The nighttime strikes, according to Sybiha, showed that Putin “belongs not at the table of peace, but at the dock of a special tribunal.”
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, reported that with temperatures dropping to almost -12C, one person was killed and four injured, essential infrastructure was damaged, and 6,000 buildings were left without heat. The destroyed structures included a maternity hospital and a shelter for displaced people, and Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported 31 casualties.
Zelensky stated that Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure was Russia’s primary aim after a similar attack last week caused power outages in the city and prevented him from attending the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory is currently occupied by Russia, which unlawfully invaded Crimea and portions of the Donbas area in 2014. As part of any deal, the Kremlin has insisted on territorial concessions, a condition Kyiv has outright refused.
Zelensky stated that land is still the primary unresolved issue while speaking at Davos. However, he also stated that he and US President Donald Trump had come to an agreement over future US security assurances for Ukraine. He said the US Congress and the Ukrainian parliament would need to approve any deal.
President Putin met with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow before to the Abu Dhabi negotiations. Although Russia is still committed to a political settlement, the Kremlin reaffirmed that any long-term agreement would need to resolve territorial claims, which Ukraine still opposes.
