Rubio describes first day of Russian-Ukrainian talks in Abu Dhabi as 'constructive'

- Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed hopes that the talks will contribute to taking practical steps leading to the end of the crisis

- Moscow will not agree to an immediate ceasefire without knowing what will happen next

Abu Dhabi – Paris, Moscow, Kyiv – Reuters, AFP – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the first day of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi was “constructive,” adding that the negotiation format should be expanded to include Europeans.

Rubio said at the conclusion of a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Paris on Tuesday that the first day was “very productive,” with “much work remaining,” as talks resume on Wednesday morning.

He added, “Our goal is to expand this trilateral format so that it does not involve only the United States, Ukraine, and Russia, but also Europeans, who will be directly represented at the table in these talks,” because they are “part of the long-term solution to this problem.”

Attending the third round of talks, the first in nine months, were the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, along with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who called for establishing a new security framework for Ukraine, Russia, and Europe to ensure peace.

Rubio said, “I hope that today is not limited to discussing bilateral issues between the two countries and how to end the war... but also how we can establish proper security relations between Ukraine, Russia, and Europe to create a new framework and not merely end the war,” in order to guarantee “decades, if not centuries, of peace.”

For his part, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed expressed his hope that the talks would contribute to taking practical steps toward ending the crisis, emphasizing that hosting the talks “reflects international confidence in the UAE’s role and its steadfast approach to supporting peace.” He praised the efforts of US President Donald Trump in facilitating the talks, consolidating stability, and advancing the political process.

In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that humanitarian issues, such as the exchange of prisoners of war and the return of children, were discussed during the Abu Dhabi talks. Speaking with some students during his visit to Denmark, Zelenskyy noted that security guarantees were also on the agenda.

The European Council announced in a joint statement that representatives of the EU, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Ukraine, the US, and NATO confirmed during a meeting in the UAE capital, prior to the start of the talks, their commitment to a strong European security architecture after the war, stressing that any agreement must guarantee Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country would not agree to an immediate ceasefire without knowing what would happen next.

Lavrov added, referring to the trilateral talks, that it would be wise to first discuss the outlines of a future European security architecture before a ceasefire in Ukraine.