Kushner says US has identified remaining gaps between Russia, Ukraine, has ideas how to bridge differences
A resident with a dog looks on at the site of private car garages hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 7, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
A new round of trilateral Russia-Ukraine peace talks mediated by the United States began Tuesday in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi. The start of the talks was announced by Russian state media, including state news agency RIA, at 0800GMT.
Addressing the meeting, Jared Kushner, a US envoy and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, said that Washington has identified where the remaining gaps lie between Russia and Ukraine and has ideas to bridge them. “We’ve had almost daily conversations with both sides and we’ve identified now where the gaps still fall short. We have some ideas to bridge them,” he said.
Kushner added that Trump is asking his team to put in extra effort to find a solution that ends the war, now in its fifth year, and leaves both sides in a stronger position. “President Trump truly is committed to see peace. He thinks this war has gone on too long,” Kushner said, adding that Trump is disturbed by the death toll and the humanitarian issues the war has caused.
He also described a “very good” meeting with the Ukrainian delegation and European partners held ahead of the talks in the trilateral format, adding that many of the ideas now being assessed were generated together with them.
‘Hopefully … the last war’
Kushner also said the key question both sides are asking is whether the other side, and Europe, is ready for peace. According to him, the aim of the talks is not only to discuss relations between Russia and Ukraine and how to end the war, but also to create a new security framework between Ukraine, Russia, and Europe.
“Hopefully this becomes the last war that we have here,” he said.
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For his part, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who joined the meeting to greet its participants, said the UAE hopes the conflict can be ended peacefully, and that the US has been a great ally in this effort. Nahyan also thanked the participants for their trust in the UAE.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations
Rustem Umerov, who heads Ukraine’s delegation, thanked EU officials for their role in preparing the talks, a process he said had been going on for almost a year, and especially in the last two months.
“We have a mandate from President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy to discuss all the issues our people are waiting for to end this war,” he said. Umerov said Ukraine hopes to achieve lasting peace and security guarantees, and that it will focus on coming away from the meeting with results.
Separately, he wrote on Telegram that the agenda of the talks includes “key issues regarding the cessation of hostilities and the path toward peace.”
Vladimir Medinsky, who heads Russia’s delegation, said Moscow hopes the meeting will advance the path to peace. “We hope that today’s meeting in a representative format, with our delegation having become larger and even more professional, will allow us to make progress on the path to peace in the interests of the peoples of Russia and Ukraine,” he said.
First talks since February
The talks are the first to take place since trilateral negotiations were held in Geneva, Switzerland this February, preceded by two other rounds of negotiations in the Emirati capital in January and February.
“At the meetings in Abu Dhabi, our team will propose de-escalatory steps,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an evening video address late Monday. Zelenskyy also highlighted the need for peace, security guarantees, and resources for Ukraine’s postwar recovery.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the talks would focus on security guarantees, adding that European representatives would not participate because the negotiations were initially agreed upon as a trilateral format.
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“What will take place in Abu Dhabi in the coming days is trilateral negotiations between Russia and Ukraine with US mediation. As for the presence of Europeans, you know that the Americans have their own channels of communication with Europeans, and Ukrainians with Europeans,” he told reporters at a Monday press briefing.
However, the European Commission and NATO, along with the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany, will send representatives to Abu Dhabi, Umerov said.
Separately, ahead of the trilateral talks, Umerov announced in a statement on Telegram that he was holding a meeting with European representatives and US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Kushner.
