The first three-way negotiations with the U.S., Russia and Ukraine began on Jan. 23 in Abu Dhabi and are to be continued on Jan. 24. Ukraine’s delegation is led by former Defense Secretary and present head of Ukraine’s NSDC Rustem Umerov, while Russia’s delegation is led by the head of its Military Directorate (GRU) Adm. Igor Kostyukov. He last met with Americans on Jan. 1, when he handed over the physical evidence on Ukraine’s targeting the residence of President Vladimir Putin to an American military attaché based at the Embassy in Moscow.
The delegation from the U.S. is led by President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, accompanied by Jared Kushner and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll. The addition of Driscoll should raise eyebrows, as he had been frozen out of negotiations after objections in Kiev and amongst Europe’s “Coalition of the Willing” to Driscoll delivering straight talk to Kiev on the realities of the battle front and the need to cut their losses. In the last week of November, Trump announced he was re-sending Driscoll to Kiev—but Driscoll, under attacks from London and the likes of War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, disappeared from the negotiation scene.
Moscow has insisted that serious negotiations must be done in private, so no news is good news.
