‘No concession’: What to expect from Russia-US-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi

Officials from Ukraine, Russia and the United States are set to converge in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for negotiations aimed at ending nearly five years of war between Moscow and Kyiv. But analysts are not hopeful of much progress in the trilateral talks slated for Tuesday and Wednesday amid US President Donald Trump’s recent engagement with the Kremlin. Trump has blamed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for holding up peace efforts.

“Zelenskyy has to want to settle this war, and if he doesn’t, I think it’s going to be a very bad thing,” he said last month. The US also signed a deal last month to buy Russian diesel, which critics say would provide Russia with revenue to sustain the war against Ukraine. On Thursday, Trump claimed that the war was close to being settled , and ending it might involve all of Europe.

But Europe is not officially part of the trilateral talks. Last week, France said that Europe will send representatives to Abu Dhabi, as Ukraine’s Western allies fear Trump might force a deal that might undermine the continent’s security.