Abu Dhabi talks: Russia and Ukraine resume negotiations

Russia and Ukraine resumed US-mediated trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, their first direct meeting since the Geneva round in February, aiming to end a war that has lasted more than four years, according to the UAE's The National.

The US delegation included Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff, while the Russian delegation was led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, joined by Sergei Ryabkov, and Rustem Umerov headed Kyiv's delegation, according to Kuwait Times. UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed welcomed the talks, saying he hoped they would produce practical steps toward ending the war, per The National.

European involvement and a broad agenda

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen Alexus Grynkewich, took part in the proceedings, after European and NATO officials met Ukraine's delegation ahead of the talks and signed a joint statement reaffirming commitment to a strong post-war European security architecture, per Kuwait Times. Tuesday's session lasted more than four hours, with talks set to resume Wednesday. The agenda covers building a new security framework involving Ukraine, Russia and Europe, along with prisoner exchanges, the return of children, and de-escalation measures.

Kushner said Trump had asked his team to put extra effort into trying to find a solution, adding that the new framework should create decades, if not centuries, of peace among the three parties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the first day as constructive and quite substantive, while Umerov said his delegation was doing everything to ensure Europe's participation in the diplomatic process, stressing that the Ukrainian people are waiting for this war to end. Medinsky, for his part, said he hoped the larger Russian delegation would help move things forward on the path to peace, per Kuwait Times.

Deep divisions over Donetsk and a ceasefire

Yet fundamental disagreements persist: Moscow is demanding that Kyiv give up the parts of the Donetsk region it still holds, while Ukraine rules out ceding any territory and insists on credible security guarantees, per The National. The Russian side considers the Ukraine settlement merely one item on a broader agenda aimed at building a comprehensive security architecture for the entire European continent, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected the European Union's demand for an immediate ceasefire, accusing the bloc of trying to buy time. A senior Ukrainian official said his delegation had no particular expectations for this round, per Kuwait Times. BBC Arabic reported that the talks began despite a continued exchange of attacks between Moscow and Kyiv.

The talks are taking place as fighting continues on the ground: Kyiv said 55 people were killed in a frontline village while queuing for humanitarian aid, while Russian forces fired 162 drones and one ballistic missile overnight into Tuesday, and Russian strikes hit 10 Ukrainian regions and five major energy substations on Monday night, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi, per The National.

Why is Abu Dhabi back in the spotlight?

This is the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv since the Geneva round in February, after months in which the diplomatic track had stalled. The talks come days after a heavy defeat for Trump's Republican Party in the US midterm elections, which puts extra pressure on his administration to show tangible progress on one of its most pressing foreign policy files, per The National. Washington's approach also clashes with the European position: the EU is conditioning any serious security discussion on a prior ceasefire, while Putin has so far refused a direct meeting with Zelenskyy or a comprehensive ceasefire, per Kuwait Times.

What does this mean for Morocco?

Although these talks are unfolding far from Morocco, their course is affecting the global wheat market the kingdom partly relies on for its imports: Black Sea grain shipping remains disrupted by drone attacks on ships and ports, with Turkish-led efforts to restart it having failed, while global wheat prices were trading near multi-month lows on Tuesday, per The National. This volatility in international markets comes less than a day after Morocco's government raised its soft wheat import subsidy to 46.77 dirhams per quintal to secure supplies for the domestic market.