First day of peace talks in the Gulf ends after nearly four hours; Rubio calls them “very productive”

The first day of peace talks between the United States, Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, ended on Tuesday after nearly four hours, the Associated Press reported, citing Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service said the talks would resume on Wednesday morning.

None of the sides reported an agreement after the first day. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in Denmark, said the trilateral talks covered humanitarian issues, including prisoner-of-war exchanges and the return of children, as well as security guarantees, France 24 reported.

What the sides said

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, attending a G7 meeting in Paris, called the talks “very productive”. “We think the trilateral format should eventually include our European partners at the table as well,” he said.

Rustem Umerov, who leads Ukraine's delegation, said: “Our people are waiting to end this war. And we hope that we will achieve the lasting peace for Ukraine.” Russia's delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky, who said the talks would help move towards peace “in the interests of the people of Russia and the people of Ukraine”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated that Moscow would not agree to an immediate ceasefire without knowing what would follow.

The US is represented by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who said in opening remarks that the aim was to “create a new framework and a new understanding”. Gen Alexus Grynkewich, Nato's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, is also taking part.

Europeans meet separately

European countries are not part of the trilateral talks. The day began with a meeting of the Ukrainian team, the US envoys and representatives of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Nato and the European Commission. In a joint statement they said a strong post-war European security architecture was needed, with a strong Nato at its centre.

Overnight before the talks, Russia launched 162 drones of various types and a ballistic missile at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said.