Before the meetings scheduled in Abu Dhabi, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre warned that the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations should be seen as a first step, not as a decisive moment, and suggested that the agenda could include ceasefires in the Black Sea area for grain transport, a ceasefire for energy infrastructure, freezing the front line, and prisoner exchanges, as “confidence-building measures.” He called on Europe to coordinate its messages and have a direct role, warning that the European security architecture must not be treated as a bargaining chip.
Separately, Russia asked Washington to take the situation on the front into account in any potential peace agreement, arguing that developments are more favorable to it than to Kyiv. The statement comes amid plans for U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to visit Moscow and Kyiv, and according to sources cited by The New York Times, the United States would be seeking a temporary halt to attacks for the duration of the visit.
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