Russia, Ukraine, US Resume Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi Push

Negotiators are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the war in Eastern Europe. The talks represent the latest in a series of negotiations that have continued since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Early peace efforts began almost immediately following the invasion. On February 28, 2022, Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their first post-invasion talks in Belarus, though discussions over two weeks yielded limited results, with negotiators agreeing only on humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations. Subsequently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba met in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10, 2022.

Diplomacy intensified in late March when delegations convened in Istanbul to work on draft peace frameworks. At that stage, Russia indicated willingness to "fundamentally cut back" military operations near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, while Ukraine signaled openness to discussing neutral status as part of a broader settlement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously called for direct engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though such high-level talks have not materialized. The Abu Dhabi meetings mark another chapter in the protracted diplomatic endeavor to end the conflict, now in its third year.