New round of Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are preparing for a new round of negotiations in Abu Dhabi. The territorial issue remains the main stumbling block. For more on what else the parties plan to discuss and where exactly the summit will be held, we present in this material.

Where the Russia-Ukraine Meeting Will Take Place

The parties are to meet in Abu Dhabi today. It is assumed that consultations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations will be held in the capital of the UAE at the Qasr al-Shati palace. According to RIA Novosti, the first trilateral meeting of Moscow, Washington, and Kiev also took place in this palace.

Qasr al-Shati was chosen for the negotiations not without reason. For the Emirates, the approach of so-called quiet diplomacy is very characteristic, where preliminary contacts and «probing» negotiations take place without wide publicity to avoid media pressure.

For such a dialogue, the palace in Abu Dhabi is just right, because it is a closed residence used for receiving foreign delegations and confidential negotiations, located away from tourist and business quarters.

Important consultations have already been held at Qasr al-Shati, including between representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as between leaders of Middle Eastern countries.

Negotiation Format

Consultations between Russia and Ukraine are planned to be held in a bilateral format—unlike the first meetings on January 23-24, when an American negotiation group acted as a mediator between the countries.

According to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, representatives from Washington may join the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, but the negotiations will not include the U.S. president«s special envoy Steve Whitcoff and the American leader»s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

This information was also confirmed by assistant to the Russian president Yuri Ushakov. He explained the bilateral nature of the upcoming meeting in Abu Dhabi by agreements between Kiev and Washington.

What the Parties Will Discuss

The territorial issue remains the most important in the process of settling the Ukrainian crisis. However, there are many other significant topics on the agenda for discussion, stated assistant to Russian President Vladimir Putin Yuri Ushakov.

U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker called the territorial question the most difficult. However, he emphasized that the settlement of the conflict is «inevitable.»

«We are getting closer and closer to reaching an agreement,» Whitaker«s words were reported in an interview with Fox News.

Meanwhile, a few days before the new round of negotiations, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kiev is not ready for territorial compromises.

Zelenskyy«s statement was responded to in the Kremlin.

«As for Donbas, the dynamics on the front line speak for themselves, and here it is unlikely that anything more needs to be added,» noted Peskov in a conversation with RIA Novosti.

He added that the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas is considered an important component of the entire peace settlement plan. Moreover, Peskov reminded that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been under Russian control for more than two years.

Expectations from the Bilateral Summit

White House chief Donald Trump and other representatives of the American administration believe that the negotiators are «very close» to a settlement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also, shortly before the meeting in Abu Dhabi, expressed the opinion that the conflict parties are closer to a possible peace agreement than at previous stages of negotiations.

At the same time, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas expressed herself in her characteristic style, emphasizing that Brussels refuses to take the initiative in resuming dialogue with Moscow and is not ready to offer Russia concessions on the Ukrainian issue. Commenting on her statement, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and special representative of the Russian president for investment and economic cooperation with foreign states Kirill Dmitriev stressed that such an «aggressive» stance by Kallas hinders peaceful settlement.