Historic Trilateral Peace Talks Begin in Abu Dhabi as Fourth Year of War Approaches

Delegations from Russia, Ukraine, and the United States convened in Abu Dhabi for their first formal trilateral meeting since the 2022 invasion. The high-stakes talks follow a whirlwind of diplomacy that saw President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting Donald Trump in Davos, while U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held a four-hour “heart-to-heart” session with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. The UAE-hosted summit aims to finalize a peace framework that Zelensky says is “nearly ready,” even as both sides report continued drone strikes on energy infrastructure.

The primary obstacle remains the “Donbas Issue.” Russia continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw its forces from the remaining 25% of the Donetsk region that Kyiv still controls. In contrast, the U.S. has proposed a compromise: a “Free Economic Zone” in the Donbas, coupled with a demilitarized area where both armies withdraw 40km from the current front line. While Zelensky stated he is open to compromises if they are mutual, the Kremlin’s position remains that a durable peace is impossible without a definitive territorial resolution based on the “Anchorage formula.”

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The proposed 20-point U.S. plan includes “Article 5-like” security guarantees for Ukraine, a permanent standing army of 800,000 troops, and joint operation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Notably, Russia has offered to transfer $1 billion in frozen assets to Trump’s “Board of Peace” to kickstart reconstruction. As the talks enter their second day, the international community watches closely to see if this “last mile” of negotiations can finally end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.