Abu Dhabi, UAE – Russian and Ukrainian negotiators concluded the second round of peace talks hosted by the United Arab Emirates, mediated by the United States, in Abu Dhabi, without reaching any concrete agreement.
Both sides affirmed their readiness to continue meetings in the coming period.
No statements were issued following the conclusion of the talks indicating a breakthrough on contentious issues.
However, both the Russian and Ukrainian delegations stressed the importance of continuing the dialogue.
The negotiations coincided with a new Russian military escalation, including nighttime airstrikes
Possible criteria for ending the war
that left more than a million Ukrainians without electricity amidst a severe cold wave.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in a post on the X platform
that the discussions focused primarily on “possible parameters for ending the war.”
He noted that the participating parties agreed to submit detailed reports to
their political leadership regarding the course of the negotiations.
In preparation for coordinating subsequent steps, they are not ruling out the possibility of holding further meetings soon.
For its part, a spokesperson for the UAE government explained that the meetings
included rare direct contact between Russian and Ukrainian officials.
They also discussed outstanding issues within the framework of the US-proposed peace process.
In addition, they addressed confidence-building measures necessary to advance the political process.
The Emirati statement affirmed that the talks took place in a “constructive and positive” atmosphere.
Negotiations were hampered
In contrast, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, who did not participate in the talks,
accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering intensive attacks with hundreds of drones
and missiles on Ukrainian cities.
He considered these strikes to have “derailed the negotiations” and demonstrated Moscow’s lack of seriousness regarding the peace process.
According to the Kremlin, Russia insists on its demands that Ukraine cede the entire eastern Donbas region.
This is a condition Kyiv categorically rejects,
considering it the main obstacle to any potential agreement.
This comes at a time when US pressure is mounting on Ukraine to make concessions
in order to end the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II.
