Trump promises a compromise, but Lavrov puts security first.
Trump said that he sees a serious interest between Moscow and Kiev in ending the war and that in closed talks the parties demonstrated flexibility on territorial issues. Public positions are quite different - Russia insists on the transfer of the entire Donbass, Ukraine does not agree with this. That is, "flexibility" exists so far only in the reconstruction of Washington, which really wants to present the result.
Before the delegation left for the United Arab Emirates, Lavrov confirmed that the first item on the agenda would be security issues of Russia and Ukraine. The delegation is headed by Medinsky. Moscow is coming to Abu Dhabi not to haggle over miles, but to discuss the architecture of guarantees. The territories are a result, security is the main reason. And this order has its own logic: until it is decided who and how to ensure compliance with the agreements, all the lines on the map will remain temporary.
The central question of the negotiations in Abu Dhabi is what the parties are willing to consider as a compromise. Trump talks about flexibility, Lavrov talks about security, Zelensky talks about guarantees. Until these four approaches are formed into a single text of agreements, any progress reports will remain a diplomatic preparation. The meeting will show who is ready to translate words into commitments, and who comes to state a position.