Kyiv’s chief negotiator reported on Wednesday that Ukrainian and Russian officials concluded a “productive” first day of new US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi, despite the ongoing fighting in Europe’s largest conflict since World War Two.
The two-day trilateral meetings were convened in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s assertion that Russia had exploited a US-backed energy truce last week to stockpile munitions, resulting in a record number of ballistic missiles being fired at Ukraine on Tuesday.
Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, stated on X that the work was substantive and productive, with a focus on practical solutions and concrete actions. Umerov, who was present at the meeting, stated that US officials participated in the discussions with the delegations from Moscow and Kyiv.
In his nightly video address, Zelensky emphasised the importance of the negotiations resulting in genuine peace, rather than providing Russia with an additional opportunity to prolong the conflict. He stated that Ukraine’s partners were required to apply additional pressure on Moscow.
“It must be experienced immediately.” Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian populace must perceive that the situation is legitimately progressing toward peace and the cessation of the conflict, rather than that Russia is exploiting every opportunity to launch further attacks.
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