Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet Vladimir Putin after Jared Kushner Ukraine Russia talks in Abu Dhabi ended without a breakthrough. The meetings followed a second day of trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US, with the American side saying it saw some openings.
Davyd Arakhamia said the round was “was one of the hardest.” He added: “I believe the Russians came with very strict directives, so it was extremely difficult to soften the discussion,” while also saying he felt “good momentum” after the talks. Moscow and Kyiv said a large-scale prisoner of war exchange was in the works and could be carried out soon.
Abu Dhabi and the post-war security frame
The Abu Dhabi meetings were framed around post-war security rather than only a ceasefire. Jared Kushner said earlier this week that the US hoped to create a new framework of security between Ukraine, Russia and Europe that could secure lasting peace, and Vladimir Medinsky said the world needed a “new” and “fair” security system, describing it as “a new Yalta and Potsdam.”
For Kyiv, the security framework may include reassurances that allies would come to Ukraine's aid if Ukraine comes under attack again, despite Ukraine not being a Nato member. For Moscow, a reworked framework is likely to include a limit to the influence of Nato in eastern Europe.
Putin, Europe and the US agenda
Jared Kushner said the US was keen to bring the Europeans on board, and said getting them “added to the format” would be on the agenda for his talks with Vladimir Putin. Representatives of Britain, Nato and various EU countries were also in Abu Dhabi and met with US and Ukrainian negotiators, but the Kremlin said its delegation had not had any contact with Britain, Nato or various EU countries.
Vladimir Medinsky said: “Right now... a lot depends on Ukraine, on the position of the US, and on whether Europe comes to its senses,” putting the next diplomatic step squarely on the talks due in Moscow and Dublin on Thursday.
Dublin talks after Moscow
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are then due to travel to Dublin to speak to Volodymyr Zelensky. That sequence leaves the US negotiators carrying the Abu Dhabi discussions from one capital to the next, with the prisoner exchange and the shape of a post-war security arrangement still at the center of the diplomacy.
