Russian delegation arrives in Abu Dhabi for Ukraine talks
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are set to resume US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi from Tuesday, with European officials excluded from the format.
A Russian delegation landed in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on Monday for trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky leads the Russian team, while Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, leads Kyiv's delegation.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the discussions would concentrate on security guarantees.
Peskov said European representatives would not take part because the negotiations were agreed in a trilateral format from the start.
He described the Abu Dhabi meeting as "trilateral negotiations between Russia and Ukraine with US mediation."
Peskov said the Americans and Ukrainians each maintain their own channels with Europeans, and that Europe appears to be building its own coordination mechanism.
Representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the United States are scheduled to convene in Abu Dhabi from Tuesday for a renewed round of peace negotiations.
Russia and Ukraine last held US-mediated peace talks earlier this year, with three rounds held on Jan. 23-24, Feb. 4-5 and Feb. 17-18.
The first two rounds took place in Abu Dhabi, while the third was held in Geneva.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the two sides have since held intermittent talks aimed at ending the war.
