Kyiv delegation arrived in Abu Dhabi for negotiations

O Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced today that the country's delegation is already in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to participate in a new negotiating round with Russia and the United States.

“Our negotiating team is already in the United Arab Emirates. The first meeting will be tomorrow (Tuesday). Our European partners will also be present, and we will have different formats,” Zelensky explained in his daily speech.

All these contacts “should serve a single purpose: bringing true peace together”. “Our team will propose debriefing measures, and it is necessary to come to an understanding on how to organise a trilateral meeting at the level of the leaders, to put an end to this war — and to do so in a just and true way,” he added.

Zelensky pointed out that she spoke with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who was “very grateful” for “support and understanding”. “There will be more support from the European Union,” he said.

Ukrainian and Russian representatives will resume direct dialogue on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with US mediation.

Negotiations, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, seek to relaunch diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the war triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine on a large scale in February 2022.

The Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi will be headed by Vladimir Medinski, adviser to President Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian by the head of secret services, Rustem Umerov.

On the side of the United States, the special envoy for the peace missions, Steve Witkoff, is expected, as well as Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump.

Expectations for the two-day meeting in the capital of the United Arab Emirates are few, although Trump anticipated that the issue of war in Ukraine will be resolved with “a great deal” extended to Europe.

The UN Secretary-General hopes that the U.S.-led peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will allow progress towards a negotiated settlement of the conflict, António Guterres’ deputy spokesman today.

“ We certainly hope that all mediation efforts can contribute to progress towards a negotiated resolution of the conflict, in accordance with the UN Charter and the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly,” said Farhan Haq in New York, when he was asked whether Guterres had any message for the mediators and the parties involved in the war.

At a press conference, Farhan Haq was also asked today about a possible renewal of the Black Sea Cereals Initiative, established at the early stages of the Russian war in Ukraine and which allowed the circulation of essential ships and products to continue.

The spokesman ensured that the UN remains ready to support the implementation of a possible agreement, but said to wait to see what the results of Turkey's mediation efforts will be.

“The Secretary-General will also meet with the President of Turkey (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) tomorrow (Tuesday), and we will see if there can be any further progress,” added Farhan Haq.

At the beginning of the war in 2022, Guterres was directly involved in the negotiations on the Black Sea Cereals Agreement (though not effective), for the export of Ukrainian and Russian cereals and fertilizers to global markets, contributing to the reduction of food prices on a global scale.