The plan to end the war? Second day of US, Russia and Ukraine talks

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, has been hosting the first direct peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia since February.

The second and last day session of the tripartite contacts, mediated by the USA, has started.

Before the negotiation table, US and Ukrainian officials held a comprehensive coordination meeting with representatives of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission.

It was reported that in this first meeting, which was attended by US special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the positions on the field were compared and the steps were coordinated.

DIPLOMATIC COORDINATION TRAFFIC IN ABU DHABI

Head of the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service Rustem Umerov, who headed the Ukrainian delegation, announced that the negotiations were carried out within the framework of efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine War.

Umerov stated that the negotiating team included the Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Kirilo Budanov, the leader of the parliamentary group of the ruling Servant of the People party David Arahamia, the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Sergiy Kislitsya and the Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Vadim Skibitski.

The Ukrainian side listed its main priorities in the negotiations as ending conflicts, providing post-war security guarantees, economic recovery and development, and humanitarian steps.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his statement to the press in Denmark yesterday, stated that he was pleased with the messages from US representatives Kushner and Witkoff.

Zelenskiy stated that he sees signs of progress towards a diplomatic solution and said, "I see changes. I am very pleased with what I hear."

The Ukrainian leader underlined that the priority order should be maintained during the negotiation process.

Zelenskiy wanted to end the war in Ukraine as a first step, then provide concrete security guarantees to his country, and in the final stage, address the security architecture in Europe and the world.

Noting that it is extremely difficult to establish a new security architecture for Europe, Zelenskiy noted that they have not yet seen what documents were negotiated between Washington and Moscow on this topic and that the priorities of the parties are not clear.

WASHINGTON DISCUSSES SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

After the first round of talks yesterday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the contacts as productive but refrained from sharing details.

US representative Jared Kushner described the first day's contacts as constructive and encouraging.

Kushner emphasized that the US administration is working to ensure a sovereign, secure and prosperous Ukraine, as well as security arrangements and an end to the war that will ensure lasting peace in Europe.

US President Donald Trump's Special Representative Steve Witkoff stated that they met with European partners before the tripartite session and discussed the efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine War and the conditions for permanent peace.

Witkoff stated that providing strong security guarantees to Ukraine was discussed at the meeting and the commitment to Euro-Atlantic security was confirmed.

Stating that the regulations that will come into force in the future should fully respect Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and right to independent decision-making, Witkoff noted that the goal is to develop a feasible security framework.

Witkoff also emphasized that after the end of the conflicts, they are looking for ways to improve agreements with existing European security institutions, discussing tension prevention mechanisms, and that the strong NATO structure will continue to be the cornerstone of the Euro-Atlantic common defense.

The US Special Representative stated that they aim to move to a comprehensive and multilateral structure in which European partners will also be at the table in the later stages of the negotiations.