Could peace in Ukraine finally be on the horizon? Over the weekend trilateral peace talks were held in Abu Dhabi between Russia, Ukraine and the US. This is the first time that has happened since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Encouragingly, the talks did not break down and seem set to reconvene next weekend. For now, the US has successfully positioned itself as an impartial mediator — rather then as a partisan on one side of the conflict. Both the Ukrainians and the Russians are also striving to sound engaged.
Speaking in Davos, just before the Abu Dhabi talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, said that he was now satisfied with the postwar security guarantees offered by the US. The big remaining issue is territory. As Zelenskyy put it: “It’s all about the land. This is the issue which is not solved yet.” Steve Witkoff, Trump’s main negotiator, had a similar assessment, telling his European counterparts in Davos that the peace deal is basically done — apart from the issue of territory.