US Envoys Head to Moscow After “Complex” Talks

 

Mia Holmberg Karlsson/TT

 

Published 10:24 | Updated 14:31

      

US mediators—President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and businessman Steve Witkoff—following Wednesday’s meetings between Ukrainian, Russian, and American representatives in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Photo: Altaf Qadri/AP/TT

Two hours after today’s talks in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine and Russia began, they were already over.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are now flying to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin.

No sooner had Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, announced that the day’s negotiations were underway than sources within the Russian delegation stated that they had concluded.

The only tangible outcome from the talks is the announcement of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. However, similar prisoner exchanges have taken place regularly throughout the war.

Jared Kushner—a US envoy and son-in-law to President Donald Trump—described the negotiations as “complex,” noting that the parties lack trust and remain very far apart in their positions.

“I can say this: deals like this take time,” he said, according to The Guardian.

Meeting with Putin

Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia, however, expressed some optimism following today’s discussions, voicing hope for a resolution before the end of the year.

Kushner and his counterpart, Steve Witkoff, are now traveling to Moscow to review the matters discussed in Abu Dhabi with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow, Thursday. Following this, according to Kushner, they are set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin, where a European summit is being held on Thursday and Friday.

The Abu Dhabi talks took place without any European representatives at the negotiating table. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasized that there was absolutely no contact between the Russian delegation and the EU representatives present in the United Arab Emirates, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

The US has previously stated that the talks are not solely about achieving peace in Ukraine, but also about “establishing the right security relations between Ukraine, Russia, and Europe.”

Giving Europe the cold shoulder

A source within the Ukrainian delegation told AFP that there is a disagreement regarding the specific issue of security arrangements for Europe: Ukraine wants to see a cessation of hostilities before security discussions take place, whereas the Russian side holds the opposite view.

Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, announced that talks with Ukrainian representatives will continue, while simultaneously stressing that the Russian side sees no reason to engage with Ukraine’s European allies.

“Moscow has not received a single peace initiative or concrete peace proposal from any European country. So, it is unclear what there is to discuss,” he said, according to AFP.