What happened
The United States, Ukraine and Russia held their first round of trilateral talks in roughly nine months on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The two-day session opened with discussions centered on security guarantees, a long-standing priority for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Neither side signaled an imminent breakthrough after the first day. Zelenskyy described the talks as constructive and quite substantive, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected European calls for a ceasefire, accusing Brussels of trying to buy time for Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said the United States asked whether Kyiv would consider trading the Donbas region for security guarantees. Ukraine has maintained that it should retain the Donbas as part of any peace deal. Zelenskyy also said Washington was not prepared to accept Ukrainian NATO membership, suggesting instead something similar.
In a later statement, Zelenskyy said the parties discussed humanitarian measures, including a possible mutual release of prisoners of war, and examined the substance and long-term effectiveness of security guarantees for Ukraine.
Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff represented the U.S. side. Kushner said ahead of the meetings that they were working toward a negotiated solution that could deliver lasting peace and create conditions for a sovereign, secure and prosperous Ukraine within a more stable European security environment.
