President Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine show growing willingness to end the war as their representatives head to Abu Dhabi for the first peace talks since February. A senior Ukrainian official rejects suggestions that Kyiv is weighing territorial concessions, and a former U.S. ambassador sees no sign that Moscow wants serious negotiations.
Trump said there was increasing willingness from both Russia and Ukraine to end the war, as representatives from Kyiv and Moscow headed to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. He told reporters at the White House on Monday that both sides were battle-weary, more than four and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
His comments followed a U.S. official's assessment that Moscow and Kyiv were privately showing some flexibility over a possible exchange of territory, according to Reuters. A senior Ukrainian official, however, rejected that suggestion, telling Reuters that any discussion of territory would have to take place between national leaders and come with appropriate security guarantees.
Washington and Moscow name their negotiators
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to lead Washington's mediation. Russia has said Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky will serve as Moscow's chief negotiator, and postwar security guarantees for Ukraine are expected to feature prominently.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that discussions had advanced on a possible postwar security framework for Ukraine and Europe. According to Rubio: "Nothing's been finalized yet, and maybe some progress can be made in Abu Dhabi."
A former ambassador sees no sign Moscow is serious
Russia has publicly maintained its demand that Ukraine surrender the entire eastern Donbas region, including territory Moscow has not captured. William Courtney, a former U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and Georgia and an adjunct senior fellow at RAND, told CNBC there are no signs so far that the Kremlin is willing to negotiate seriously toward a ceasefire.
Courtney pointed to Russia's continued missile and drone attacks and efforts to destroy bridges over the Dnieper River, arguing that Moscow's aims had not changed. He said serious talks would be unlikely without a shift in Russia's objectives or on the battlefield.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his nightly address late Monday, urged Washington to convince Russia to end the war. He said recent Ukrainian battlefield gains and mounting Russian losses had improved Kyiv's bargaining power.
Source: CNBC
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