Witkoff and Kushner in Abu Dhabi want to “crystallize” decisions for Putin and Zelensky

US special envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner intend to “crystallize” at the talks in Abu Dhabi the decisions that the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, will have to make.

This is reported by Axios, citing an American official.

According to the publication, after the meetings in the UAE, the American representatives may travel to Moscow and Kyiv to speak directly with Putin and Zelensky.

A military working group led by the commander of US European Command, General Alexus Grynkewich, is working within the framework of the talks. It will discuss issues of monitoring a truce and security measures after the war ends.

The political working group will focus on the most delicate topic — territorial claims. In private conversations, American officials note that in recent weeks both sides have “shown some flexibility” on this issue. At the same time, they state that reaching an agreement on territories is impossible until security guarantees are agreed upon.

The Americans have invited representatives of Europe for separate discussions on the sidelines. They will play a key role in any post-war security arrangements.

The US also wants to launch a third channel of negotiations between European countries and Russia in order to find new ways to reduce tensions and prevent conflicts. Some European countries are distrustful of this idea, fearing a weakening of NATO. Witkoff and Kushner hope that Moscow will agree to include European representatives in the next round of talks.

Ukrainian officials state that they have three priorities for the negotiations: energy and maritime truces, as well as the organization of a trilateral summit involving US President Donald Trump and the leaders of Ukraine and Russia. However, neither the Russian delegation nor the Americans confirm that the talks are discussing issues of energy and maritime truces. Both the US and Moscow are emphasizing security guarantees.

The British magazine The Economist, citing sources, writes that Trump’s team proposes changing the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions so that Russia could claim their capture, but Ukraine would not have to give up territories. The Americans also propose lifting sanctions on Russian energy, which Ukraine and the EU oppose.

In Russia, they state that the key topic of today’s talks will be pan-European security.

“Abu Dhabi will discuss key aspects of shaping the continent’s security system in the post-conflict period. The Ukrainian settlement, while a critically important issue, is merely one item in a large-scale discussion,” a source told the Russian state agency TASS.

He added that “the parties in Abu Dhabi will focus on developing mechanisms to prevent threats and strengthen regional stability.”

This focus of the talks has already been confirmed by the US, and Trump earlier spoke of preparing a “broad agreement” on Ukraine that would include security issues in Europe. To this end, at a future stage they plan to involve Europeans in the negotiations as well.

At the same time, Western media write that Kyiv and Moscow are ready for compromises on territorial issues. However, officially neither Kyiv nor Moscow has confirmed this so far.