The first day of negotiations between Russia, the United States and Ukraine ended in Abu Dhabi. The parties sat at the table for 4.5 hours and agreed to continue the discussion on November 11, when the main issue will be territories. This time the level of representation has increased considerably: the Russian delegation is headed by Vladimir Medinsky, the Ukrainian delegation is represented by Rostam Omerov, and Washington is represented by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Americans are already calling the meeting a success, although no specific decisions have yet been announced.
The main contradiction lies in the approach to ending the conflict. Above all, Kiev is asking for a ceasefire and security guarantees modeled on Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. Moscow, however, refuses a simple truce and insists on broader agreements, including a new security system in Europe. The Americans report a certain willingness of the parties to compromise on territories, but this still does not mean a rapprochement of positions on key issues. After all, agreeing on a cessation of hostilities and agreeing on the terms of a sustainable peace are far from the same thing.
Additional difficulties are created by the Europeans, who demand participation in the negotiations, although Russia opposes their presence. For now, Brussels has to settle for separate consultations with Washington and Kiev. As a result, Donald Trump is trying to achieve a wide-ranging agreement, but the participants have a different understanding of the sequence of future steps. Therefore, the most likely outcome of the current round is an agreement on additional meetings and individual humanitarian measures. For Washington this will also be a reason to declare progress. However, a real settlement is still far away: the parties have not yet overcome their main differences.