Russia, Ukraine and the United States are set to discuss security guarantees, territorial disputes and a wider European security framework when their negotiators meet in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
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negotiators → set → Tuesday
The two-day round of peace talks are aimed at ending the nearly five-year-old war.
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round → aim → war
The negotiations, the first trilateral meeting since February, come amid continued fighting along the front line and escalating Russian and Ukrainian drone and missile attacks.
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negotiations → come → line
The talks follow months of stalled diplomatic efforts.
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talks → follow → efforts
Previous rounds of negotiations earlier this year failed to make visible progress towards ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
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rounds → fail → II
With Moscow and Kyiv holding sharply different positions on the terms of a settlement, the discussions are expected to focus on the security arrangements that could prevent another escalation, as well as the territorial and military issues standing in the way of a peace deal.
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that → hold → deal
Here is what will be on the agenda:Security guarantees for Ukraine and Russia
Security guarantees are expected to be a central focus of the Abu Dhabi negotiations.
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guarantees → expect → negotiations
Ukraine wants assurances from Western allies that would deter Russia from launching another invasion after a potential peace agreement.
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that → want → agreement
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Kyiv and its allies have discussed guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5.
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Kyiv → say → Article
Under the provision, an attack on one NATO member is treated as an attack against the entire alliance.
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attack → treat → alliance
In an interview broadcast on November 5, Zelenskyy said the key question was how Western countries would respond if Russia attacked Ukraine again.
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Russia → broadcast → Ukraine
“If Russia starts again, what will happen?” Zelenskyy asked.
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Zelenskyy → start → ?
“Who will do what, with what means, and when?”
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Who → do → what
Some European countries have also considered deploying troops to Ukraine after a potential peace deal.
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countries → consider → deal
However, Moscow has rejected the proposal and warned that any European troops on Ukrainian soil would be treated as legitimate targets.
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troops → reject → targets
Russia, meanwhile, wants security guarantees of its own.
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Russia → want → own
The Kremlin has long opposed NATO's military presence in Central and Eastern Europe, arguing that the alliance's deployments threaten Russian security.
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deployments → oppose → security
Before launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, Moscow had demanded that NATO roll back its troop and weapons deployments in the region.
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NATO → launch → region
Similar demands are likely to feature in any comprehensive settlement proposed by Russia.
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demands → feature → Russia
US President Donald Trump has also hinted at a wider agreement on European security.
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Trump → hint → security
After meeting Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House on November 4, Trump said a broader deal was being discussed.
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deal → meet → November
“It's going to be a big agreement, and it's going to involve more than Ukraine,” Trump said, adding that it might include all of Europe.
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it → go → Europe
The territorial question remains one of the biggest obstacles to a peace agreement.
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question → remain → agreement
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from four regions that Moscow illegally annexed during the war but has never fully captured.
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Moscow → want → war
He also wants Kyiv to abandon its ambition of joining NATO, accept strict limits on its military and lift restrictions on the Russian language and the Moscow-affiliated Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
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Kyiv → want → Ukraine
Putin has insisted on a comprehensive peace agreement based on these conditions.
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Putin → insist → conditions
He has rejected a general ceasefire, arguing that it would give Ukrainian forces time to rest and replenish their weapons stockpiles.
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it → reject → stockpiles
Zelenskyy, however, has refused to surrender Ukrainian territory that Russian forces have failed to capture on the battlefield.
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forces → refuse → battlefield
Ukraine argues that an immediate ceasefire should be the first step towards a broader settlement.
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ceasefire → argue → settlement
It has also maintained that territorial disputes can only be resolved through a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy.
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disputes → maintain → Putin
Ukraine wants its European allies to be part of the negotiations, arguing that any agreement on the continent's security must involve the countries directly affected by it.
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agreement → want → it
Russia, however, has opposed their participation in the Abu Dhabi meeting.
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Russia → oppose → meeting
“No one is going to invite them to the negotiating table,” Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said when asked whether European envoys could join the talks.
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envoys → go → talks
He added that even if they travelled to Abu Dhabi, they would not be allowed into the negotiating room.
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they → add → room
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said European countries would have to be involved in broader discussions at a later stage.
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countries → say → stage
“Since the discussion will touch upon the future security architecture in Europe while addressing the mutual security of Russia and Ukraine, at some stage it would be impossible to do it without the Europeans,” he said.
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he → touch → Europeans
European involvement has also been complicated by the European Union's difficulty in deciding who should represent the bloc in negotiations with Moscow.
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who → complicate → Moscow
On October 27, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke to Putin in their first known direct conversations with the Russian leader since shortly after the 2022 invasion.
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Stubb → speak → invasion
They said they had spoken as leaders of Russia's Nordic neighbours and not on behalf of the European Union.
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they → say → Union
Peskov criticised the bloc's inability to appoint a representative, saying EU members “can't even decide yet who is authorised to speak on their behalf”.
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who → criticise → behalf
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
