Abu Dhabi to Host Second Round of Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators are set to participate in a second round of United States-brokered talks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two-day trilateral discussions, scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi, aim to advance negotiations on ending Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

The talks come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of violating a Trump-brokered deal that called for ceasing attacks on energy facilities. A recent Russian drone and missile barrage in the run-up to the talks, which targeted Ukraine’s energy grid, has raised concerns about the prospects for progress.

The first round of the meeting was held in the UAE last month, marking the first direct public negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv on a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration. The main sticking point in the negotiations remains the long-term fate of territory in eastern Ukraine, which Russia has occupied.

Russia is demanding that Ukraine pull its troops out of swaths of the Donbas region, including heavily fortified cities atop vast natural resources, as a precondition for any deal. Moscow also wants international recognition for the land it annexed in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s delegation will be headed by Security Council chief Rustem Umerov, while Russia will be represented by its military intelligence director Igor Kostyukov.

The talks are expected to focus on security guarantees for Ukraine against future Russian attacks and the long-term fate of territory in eastern Ukraine. The fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is approaching later this month.

Source: Al Jazeera