INTERNATIONAL DESK — A first day of US-led talks between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi ended on Tuesday, with Washington calling for a “new” security framework, as Europe fears US President Donald Trump plans a deal with Moscow on the continent’s future. Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff brought together the warring sides for several hours of negotiations — the first since February — that are set to continue on Wednesday.
Kushner told delegates the United States had “narrowed the gaps” between the sides — without providing details — and hoped to move towards a “solution” to Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. In Paris, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the talks as “very productive” and called for Europeans to be eventually included at the negotiating table “because they are part of solving this problem”. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy later said the talks were “constructive and quite substantive”, saying his team reported to him that humanitarian issues and security guarantees were among what was discussed.
Speaking in Copenhagen, the Ukrainian president also said it was “time” for Europe to choose a representative for the talks. Europe has been rattled as Trump has floated a deal with Russia on rewriting Europe’s post-war security, also worrying that Washington will force Kyiv to accept a de facto defeat. At the Abu Dhabi talks, Trump’s son-in-law Kushner said the US