A ceasefire in Ukraine will not even be discussed at the talks in Abu Dhabi – NYT
Kyiv • UNN
The talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia will focus on the architecture of European security. Experts do not expect progress before spring.
At the trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia scheduled for November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi, ceasefire and territorial issues are not expected to be discussed. Instead, American mediators will focus on the future security architecture in Europe. The New York Times reports this, citing U.S. officials, UNN writes.
Details
According to the publication, Washington wants to find out whether Moscow would become more accommodating if it were involved in discussing the future of European security.
The main topic of the talks is expected to be guarantees that could prevent the war from restarting if a peace agreement is reached. At the same time, Kyiv insisted that an agreement on de-escalation should be reached before winter sets in.
When real progress is expected
NYT's sources among experts do not predict significant progress in the talks before spring. In their view, by then the Kremlin will be assessing the results of the winter strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
At present, experts cite local ceasefires modeled on the one in Oleshky as one of the possible outcomes of the talks.
The Russian delegation will be headed by Vladimir Medinsky, the United States will be represented by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and the Ukrainian delegation by Rustem Umerov.
Representatives of the European Commission, the European Council, France, Germany and the United Kingdom will also arrive in Abu Dhabi. At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that European representatives would not be allowed directly to the negotiating table.