Trump expects Ukraine to emerge in a "different form" ahead of two-day Abu Dhabi talks

Key Facts

President Donald Trump said he believes the war will end and Ukraine will emerge from it "a little different," in remarks to "60 Minutes" ahead of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. Trump did not explain what he meant by a different form for the country, so his words alone do not define a U.S. vision for changing Ukraine's borders or accepting territorial concessions. He added that he believes Moscow and Kyiv are "very close" to reaching a deal, but attributed the difficulty of making peace to the hatred between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The talks are scheduled to begin on Tuesday and last two days, according to the Associated Press, bringing together officials from the United States, Russia and Ukraine. The round is significant because it addresses two intertwined tracks: postwar security arrangements and the dispute over territory, while the two sides remain far from an announced settlement.

According to U.S. officials cited by Axios, the talks will proceed through two working groups; one will examine military issues, including postwar ceasefire monitoring and security arrangements, while the political group will focus on territorial demands. This structure places security guarantees alongside the issue that has remained an obstacle to progress, rather than limiting discussion to a halt in fighting alone. The Associated Press said the talks will consider guarantees that could address Russia's concerns about NATO and Ukraine's desire to prevent a future Russian invasion. The territorial issue made no progress in the previous round in February, according to the U.S. officials cited by Axios. The outlet quoted U.S. officials as saying Moscow is demanding control of the entire Donbas region, while Kyiv says the territorial demarcation should be based on current front lines.

Kyiv remains opposed to voluntarily ceding territory that Russian forces have not managed to take on the ground, according to the Associated Press. Ukraine also considers any restrictions on its military or its arrangements with Western partners to undermine the core of the security guarantees it needs. Russian demands, meanwhile, include the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the four regions Moscow declared annexed in 2022, along with demands related to NATO membership and the size of Ukraine's army, the news agency said. Kyiv says an immediate ceasefire should be the first step toward a broader settlement, and that resolving territorial issues requires a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. The breadth of the agenda reflects the difficulty of reconciling arrangements to stop the war with conflicting positions on territory and the form of the guarantees that would follow.

Officials from France, Germany and the European Commission will be in Abu Dhabi, but their presence does not mean they will participate in the negotiations themselves. Reuters said Russia had made clear it does not want Europeans to be a party to the negotiations, while the Ukrainian delegation is meeting its European allies separately to brief them on progress. Zelenskyy confirmed that European partners would be present and that Kyiv would hold meetings with them in separate formats. The Ukrainian president said his team would propose steps to de-escalate and that there should be an understanding on how to arrange a trilateral meeting of leaders to end the war. The distinction between the Europeans' presence and their participation in negotiations makes this a practical issue in the round, given Kyiv's effort to coordinate its position with them while Moscow rules out their joining the negotiating table.

The new round follows earlier talks at the start of the year that yielded no apparent progress toward ending the war, according to the Associated Press. In February, the territorial issue made no progress, according to U.S. officials cited by Axios. On the ground, fighting continued along a 1,200-kilometer front line, as long-range attacks by drones and missiles intensified, according to the agency's report published on November 9. In the previous month, a local ceasefire agreement in Oleshky allowed some residents to be evacuated and humanitarian aid to be delivered, but fighting continued on the front. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the process "still has a way to go" and that Washington would continue looking for ways to help end the war.

Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian team had arrived in the United Arab Emirates and that the first meeting was scheduled for the following day. He also said Kyiv wants to know how a trilateral meeting of leaders could be arranged. On the Russian side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said another round of trilateral talks would take place soon, setting it for Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. A possible next step after this round was linked by a U.S. official cited by the Associated Press to how the talks go: Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could travel to Moscow and Kyiv to meet Putin and Zelenskyy if the Abu Dhabi talks go well. The official did not announce that the visits had been decided, but raised them as a possibility contingent on the outcome of the meetings. Rubio said Washington would continue trying to help end the war, while Zelenskyy is proposing de-escalation steps and calling for discussion of a leaders' meeting.