U.S. officials say there is now a “real shot” at achieving “serious progress” toward ending the Russia-Ukraine war, ahead of trilateral talks set to begin Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.
On a press call previewing the negotiations, officials said conversations between the United States and the two warring countries are now happening on a daily basis. “Our goal is really to make sure we can start defining how we’re gonna end this war,” one U.S. official said, adding that the administration will “try and get the Russians to agree to a multilateral format,” noting that further discussion is needed between European nations and Russia.
Officials also signaled some movement on the territorial disputes that have long been a central sticking point in the conflict. “Both sides have shown a little bit of flexibility privately,” one official said, even as public positions from Moscow and Kyiv have not changed.
Security guarantees for Ukraine are expected to be a major topic when talks open Tuesday, including the possibility of a NATO-style Article 5 defense commitment for Kyiv. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leading the American mediation effort.
The war has continued since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Trump administration has been pressing to broker an end to the fighting, and officials framed the Abu Dhabi meetings as a potential step toward defining the terms of a settlement.
