An attack ignites a fire in a Russian port on the Baltic Sea, and Ukraine claims responsibility

The round of tripartite talks in Abu Dhabi, which included delegations from Russia, the United States, and Ukraine, concluded with limited understandings that included an agreement on a “broad exchange” of prisoners from both sides, and setting general priorities for future discussions.

The security issue in Europe occupied a major part of the discussions, despite the absence of the Europeans at the negotiating table, and it seemed that this point, along with the issue of regional concessions, still constituted the most prominent obstacle on the way to achieving a major breakthrough, although optimism dominated the atmosphere of the dialogue, which American sources described as constructive.

The dialogue round on the second day of negotiations lasted for approximately two hours, after which the delegations left the meeting room without announcing details, thus concluding the latest round of negotiations conducted under American mediation to end the war.

A “huge exchange” of prisoners

It appeared from the brief press conference held by the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, that the parties failed to bring views closer on the basic issues. But he said that its details will become clear later. This is the only tangible result so far.

The chief Russian negotiator avoided addressing the details of the discussions, and said that the formulas proposed for the settlement should not be discussed before reaching specific results regarding them. But he touched on two basic points, which showed the level of divergence in positions. The most prominent of them is the security file in Europe, which he said was a main focus of discussion, and he stated that during the discussions on it, “there was agreement on some points and differences emerged on other points.”

In turn, Ukraine on Wednesday praised what it described as “positive momentum” at the end of the second day of the talks. Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamiya said: “I think we have positive momentum to reach a solution before the new year,” without providing further details. He added that he hopes to hold another session “as soon as possible.”

Europeans should “stay in hotels”

The second is the nature and level of European participation in discussing the issues at hand, as Medinsky launched a sharp attack on the European parties and said that he did not know the reason for their presence in the Emirati capital during the tour, and called on them to “stay in hotels.”

He said that the Russian delegation did not make any contact with the Europeans present outside the meeting hall. He also renewed the accusation that the Europeans continue to fuel the conflict and bear responsibility for the bloodshed. When he was asked: When can the Europeans sit at the dialogue table to discuss files related to the security of the continent? He replied: “When they awaken their conscience.”

On the other hand, there were no details in Medinsky’s speech about the features of the expected settlement, and the files that were put forward for discussion, including the issue of ceding territory, amid continued American pressure on Kiev to acknowledge “the shrinking of the map of Ukraine and the change in its features.”

The state-run Novosti news agency quoted a source in the negotiating delegation as saying that the talks “aimed to discuss the main aspects of forming a new continental security system.” “Settlement of the Ukrainian file is only one point within a broader discussion.”

However, Medinsky confirmed that Russia will continue talks with Ukraine, but stressed that Moscow sees no justification for meeting with the Europeans on this matter. Medinsky told reporters: “It is certain that the discussion will continue,” adding that Moscow “has not received a single peace initiative or a single concrete proposal for peace from European countries.” So it is not clear what can be discussed with them.

Ukraine announced earlier, on Wednesday, that its negotiators would hold a separate meeting with the Europeans and the two American envoys in Abu Dhabi, after the end of the talks with the Russian delegation.

Putin followed moment by moment

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said that President Vladimir Putin was informed moment by moment of the course of the discussions, emphasized the issue related to the complete Russian boycott of the European presence, and said that any contacts with the Europeans “were not planned.” “No such communications occurred.”

Peskov told reporters in response to a question about the negotiation process: “Of course, we have to wait until the end of the current part of the Abu Dhabi talks.” Our delegation will submit an immediate report to the presidency on this matter.”

It became known that the American sponsor of the negotiations focused in the first day's round, which lasted approximately four hours, on the issue of security in Europe, while the discussion on the next day, in which the discussions continued for approximately two hours, was devoted to the issue of possible regional concessions.

Media leaks showed that American negotiators were focusing on establishing two working groups, according to the Axios website. The military group, led by the commander of American forces in Europe, Alexus Grinkevich, focused on security and monitoring a potential ceasefire, while the political group focused on the essence of the conflict and mechanisms for regional settlements.

Kushner and Witkoff to Moscow on Thursday

The British newspaper The Telegraph reported that the United States proposed a regional settlement based on recognition of the new geographical reality, while a Ukrainian source told the newspaper that “the Ukrainian delegation did not discuss any regional concessions.”

Evaluations on the first day of the talks were mixed, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the talks as “very productive,” while presidential envoy Jared Kushner described them as “constructive.” Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, a member of the negotiating delegation, said that it was “too early” to evaluate the results. On the other hand, Zelensky renewed his rejection of the possibility of making territorial concessions, and refused to withdraw forces from the areas still under the control of his forces in the Donbas region. However, Russian sources said that the composition of the Russian negotiating team clearly indicates the importance that the Kremlin attaches to this round of negotiations.

US envoy Jared Kushner said on Wednesday that he and his colleague Steve Witkoff will go to Moscow on Thursday and then meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Irish capital, Dublin, after their trip to Russia. Kushner added that the talks between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi are “a good first step.”

A new American approach towards Russia

Compared to previous meetings, the Russian delegation's weight in the negotiations increased. In addition to Assistant President Medinsky, who headed the delegation, and Deputy Minister Ryabkov, Yuri Zhigarlovsky, Deputy Head of the Main Operations Department of the General Staff, also attended. Representatives of the Russian Federal Security Service also attended, as the main delegation included Alexei Komkov, Head of the Operational Information and International Relations Department, and Dmitry Minaev, First Deputy Head of the FSB and Head of the Counterintelligence Operations Department, among the expert team. From Moscow, Yuri Ushakov, Assistant to the President for Foreign Affairs, directly coordinated the delegation's work.

It is noteworthy that the main details of the talks are still kept secret, as the Ukrainian media only revealed that the two parties agreed on a major prisoner exchange. Media sources believed that Ukrainian secrecy hides dissatisfaction with the continuing pressure on Kiev, and that President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking to evaluate the situation with the European parties before giving specific assessments.

However, Russian experts saw that the US administration’s focus on the European security engineering file and giving priority to discussions about it over the subject of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict itself, constituted a new approach by the US administration towards Russian positions.

Novosti's political commentator saw this as "a fundamental shift in the American position: Moscow has repeatedly confirmed that one of the root causes of the conflict is the West's aggressive policy of expanding its influence, completely ignoring Russia's legitimate interests." Now, Washington implicitly acknowledges its mistake.”

However, in Europe itself, this was seen as treason. Kaya Kallas, the chief oversight officer for European diplomacy, strongly criticized the American negotiators for the American focus on this file and ignoring other causes of the conflict. “We already have a European security architecture - with NATO and the European Union playing the specific role,” she said.

Mutual attacks

The two sides exchanged accusations of launching attacks during the night while the talks were being held. Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergei Koretsky said that Russia targeted six major power substations in four regions of central Ukraine. The Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz announced on Wednesday that jet drones launched by Russia bombed its facility in the Dnepropetrovsk region in the east of the country, causing a fire and damage to the equipment. In Russia, the TASS news agency quoted the governor of the Smolensk region, which is located on the border with Belarus, as saying that the debris of a drone fell on a residential building, killing two people. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its forces targeted a cargo ship in the Black Sea, southwest of the Ukrainian port of Odessa, and said that the ship was carrying weapons and military equipment intended for the Ukrainian armed forces.