US, Russia and Ukraine resume peace talks in Abu Dhabi with security guarantees on the agenda

Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States have opened a new round of talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, the first such meeting since February. PBS NewsHour, carrying an Associated Press report, said the session is scheduled to run for two days starting Tuesday.

The previous round, held in Geneva, ended without a breakthrough, BBC News reported. The BBC said Washington's attention then shifted to the US-Israel war on Iran, and no further talks took place until now.

Both outlets said security arrangements after the war are central to the agenda. A US official told reporters, according to the BBC, that Moscow and Kyiv had privately shown some flexibility on control of Ukraine's eastern regions, but that territorial questions would not be settled until a postwar security framework is agreed.

The main dispute centers on Donetsk, most of which Russia now occupies. The BBC reported that Moscow wants Ukraine to give up the parts it still holds, while Kyiv wants the front line frozen. PBS said Russian President Vladimir Putin also demands that Ukraine drop its NATO bid and accept limits on its military, and that he opposes a general ceasefire. Ukraine favors an immediate ceasefire as a first step, PBS reported.

Jared Kushner, part of the US delegation with envoy Steve Witkoff, wrote on X that the talks would focus on the postwar security concerns of both countries. "An important part of this process is encouraging all parties to begin thinking seriously about what comes after the war," he wrote, according to the BBC. Proposals described by the outlets include crisis communication channels, military transparency and reciprocal steps to reduce escalation; the BBC said US officials also raised reviving the NATO-Russia Council.

European involvement remains contested. The BBC said the US would propose expanding to a multilateral format including European countries. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov rejected inviting them, saying, "No one is going to invite them to the negotiating table," PBS reported, though Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europeans would need to join broader talks later.

Russia's delegation is led by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky and includes deputy foreign ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin, Igor Kostyukov and Yuri Zhigarlovsky. The BBC described Kostyukov as a spy chief and Zhigarlovsky as an army general; PBS identified them as military intelligence chief and a deputy head of the General Staff's operational department. Ukraine's team is led by Foreign Intelligence Service head Rustem Umerov and includes chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov and lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia, both outlets reported.

Fighting has continued during the diplomacy. PBS reported that Russia has stepped up strikes on Ukraine's power grid as winter begins, and the BBC said Russian attacks wounded nine people and damaged energy infrastructure ahead of the talks.

Compiled by True News from reporting by BBC News and PBS NewsHour. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/931