Both Russia and Ukraine are showing some flexibility in private on a possible exchange of territory ahead of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi this week, a US official said on Monday.
The official, briefing reporters ahead of the talks, said security guarantees for Ukraine will be a major topic in the discussions, including the potential for a NATO-style Article 5 defence commitment for Kyiv.
Both sides have been adamant about territory. Ukraine wants Russia pushed back to the original border between the two countries, while Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to obtain all of the Donbas region. But the official said both sides are privately showing some potential for a compromise. Any territorial agreement would likely come at the end of negotiations, once other items are agreed, including a post-war security architecture, the official said.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are to lead the American mediation in the Abu Dhabi talks, which are scheduled for two days. The official said it was possible the envoys would travel to Russia at some point after the talks to meet Mr Putin.
While noting that the negotiations would take some time, the official said there was cautious optimism on the US side that progress can be made. “This is the first time I feel like we see real desire on the Russian side to finish,” the official said.
The talks, opening on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, will be the first three-sided talks since February aimed at bringing closer an end to the more than four-and-a-half-year-old war.
Source: Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-ukraine-showing-flexibility-territory-us-official-says-2026-11-09/
