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ABU DHABI: Talks between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the US, on ending more than four years of war began in Abu Dhabi Tuesday, a source in Moscow\u2019s delegation said.<\/p>\n
Russian state media published a photograph of Ukraine\u2019s and Russia\u2019s delegation sitting opposite each other, with US envoys at the head of the table. It is the first such meeting between the rivals in more than nine months.<\/p>\n
Europe \u2014 alarmed by US President Donald Trump floating a deal with Moscow on European security ahead of the talks \u2014 also sent representatives to Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
Trump has pushed for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war since returning to power, but previous talks produced no breakthroughs and the process became sidelined by the US-Israeli war against Iran.<\/p>\n
Europe and Ukraine fear the United States will force a deal on Kyiv that would amount to a de-facto capitulation, with Trump appearing to pivot toward Moscow this year.<\/p>\n
Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions and has dragged on for 56 months, with the Kremlin showing no sign of backing down.<\/p>\n
Trump hinted Ukraine will have to give up land ahead of the talks, saying: \u201cThey\u2019re going to end up with a little bit different shape, Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russia occupies large swathes of Ukraine but, while its troops have grinded westwards, they have not been able to seize the whole of the Donetsk region.<\/p>\n
Moscow demands Kyiv surrender the parts of the region it still controls, vowing it will otherwise press on with its offensive.<\/p>\n
Ukraine \u2014 which for more than 4.5 years has resisted a far larger invading army at a huge human cost \u2014 has ruled out such a withdrawal.<\/p>\n
Russia pummeled Ukraine in the run-up to the talks and carried out one of its deadliest strikes yet \u2014 with Kyiv saying 55 people were killed in a frontline village as they queued for humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the intensified strikes were part of Moscow\u2019s strategy of \u201cputting pressure on Ukraine\u2019s position\u201d at the negotiations.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin, who launched the war in February 2022, has repeatedly refused broader ceasefire offers and face-to-face talks with Zelensky.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff will gather the enemy sides in Abu Dhabi for the first time since February, when negotiations took place in Geneva.<\/p>\n
Russia and Ukraine have held several rounds of failed talks during almost five years of war and hopes for peace are low.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have any particular expectations,\u201d a senior Ukrainian official in Kyiv told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u2018We don\u2019t want Yalta 2.0\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump last week floated a \u201cvery big agreement\u201d on the war that will \u201cinvolve all of Europe,\u201d stoking fears Washington would collaborate with Moscow on creating a new European security architecture.<\/p>\n Shortly before launching its 2022 invasion, Moscow had issued an ultimatum to the West for NATO to rollback troops from Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n The diplomat who issued the demand, Sergei Ryabkov, will for the first time be part of Moscow\u2019s delegation, which is headed by Putin\u2019s nationalistic aide Vladimir Medinsky.<\/p>\n Kushner said Monday that a peace settlement will require direct Russia-Europe talks \u201con the broader security arrangements that affect them\u201d and said the US \u201crecognizes difficult decisions ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n These announcements have stoked fears in European capitals.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Europe, it is clear: we do not need to establish a new security architecture for Europe,\u201d German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Monday.<\/p>\n He urged Moscow to \u201cgive up maximalist demands\u201d and warned against any \u201cnegotiation show\u201d in the UAE capital.<\/p>\n Zelensky has warned of a \u201cYalta 2.0\u201d referring to Western leaders dividing Europe with the USSR in 1945.<\/p>\n According to Ukraine\u2019s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov, representatives from the UK, France, Germany and Italy, as well as NATO and EU officials will hold separate talks with Kyiv\u2019s representatives in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n The Kremlin \u2014 which has sought to keep Europe out of the talks \u2014 said negotiations will remain \u201ctrilateral.\u201d<\/p>\n A recent ceasefire in the Kherson region was \u201ca very positive precedent,\u201d Ukrainian political expert Volodymyr Fesenko told AFP, predicting Kyiv will look for \u201cde-escalation of the war through such local truces.\u201d<\/p>\n Kushner and Witkoff have been accused by critics of being soft on Russia and US media have reported that the Americans are pushing large back-door business deals with Moscow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n