The key facts

  • Trilateral talks on settling the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv are underway in Abu Dhabi
  • Kushner said points of divergence between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations had been identified
  • Axios reports that Witkoff and Kushner want to 'crystallize' decisions for Putin and Zelensky

Talks in Abu Dhabi

Trilateral talks on settling the conflict between Russia and Ukraine are underway in Abu Dhabi. US presidential special envoy Jared Kushner expressed hope at the meeting that the dialogue would be open: 'I hope that today we will have the opportunity to have an open dialogue.' According to him, the sides have 'a lot of emotions,' but the courage of their teams is valuable. He also said that points of divergence between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations had been identified. This is reported by Gazeta.Ru citing RIA Novosti.

What is known about the American side's plans

The Axios portal, citing sources, reports that the US president's representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are seeking at the meeting to 'crystallize' decisions that Russian and Ukrainian presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will have to make. According to the portal, after the talks the US envoys may travel to Moscow and Kyiv for direct talks with the leaders of the two countries. Earlier, Zelensky named four priorities for Ukraine at the peace talks in Abu Dhabi; their content is not disclosed in available publications.