Abu Dhabi day one ‘constructive’, but Zelensky rejects Donbas-for-security trade
Four hours of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine ended on Tuesday with Volodymyr Zelensky calling them “constructive and quite substantive” and Marco Rubio “very productive”, though Sergei Lavrov ruled out a ceasefire: “We will not agree to it.” Mr Zelensky said the Americans had asked whether Kyiv would “trade the Donbas for security”, with Nato membership off the table and “something similar” offered instead. “No one believes that Putin will stop if we give up the Donbas,” he said.
“He might pause — but then he will return in a year, two years or five years. And who will be to blame then?” the Ukrainian president wrote, while reporting that the delegations “discussed in detail the substance of security guarantees for Ukraine and the foundations for their long-term implementation”. Jared Kushner opened by saying Washington had “narrowed the gaps”; a US official described a guarantee “effectively very similar to Nato” and insisted “it really is a final end to the war” that is sought, with the Donetsk question unresolvable “until they know what the security architecture is going to be”. Mr Rubio, in Paris, answered Europe’s complaint directly: “Well, Europe’s at the table. They’re with us,” though the European envoys met the Americans separately and issued a statement demanding any deal “respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, independent decision-making, and provide credible security guarantees”. The money row surfaced too: Robert Fico called Friedrich Merz’s demand that every member state fund Ukraine “typical blackmail”, with Kyiv seeking €70bn against €45bn pledged and €210bn of Russian assets frozen. Watch whether Wednesday produces a text or another date.