Rubio names Donbas as toughest hurdle in Ukraine-Russia talks
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (photo: Getty Images)
At talks on ending Russia's war against Ukraine, active work is underway to resolve the territorial issue and the fate of Donbas. This remains the key and most difficult point of disagreement between the sides, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a hearing of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Reuters reports.
According to Rubio, during the talks in Abu Dhabi, representatives of both countries managed to narrow the range of issues down to one central question — the status of Donbas — but resolving it will be extremely difficult.
''It's still a bridge we have to cross. It's still a gap, but at least we've been able to narrow down the issue set to one central one, and it will probably be a very difficult one,'' the US secretary of state said.
Talks in Abu Dhabi
Two days of talks between delegations of Ukraine, the United States, and Russia on ending the war took place in Abu Dhabi on January 23–24.
The first round was introductory in nature, and the next day the talks continued in an expanded format. After that, the sides split into two subgroups — political and military.
The greatest progress was achieved in the military track, while no agreements have yet been reached on territorial issues.
Within the military subgroup, possible force disengagement, mechanisms to monitor a ceasefire, and the creation of a coordination center for these processes were discussed.
The sides agreed to prepare their own proposals for the further ceasefire regime a week before the next meeting.
At the same time, according to media reports, Moscow is insisting on sharing the electricity produced by the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant between Ukraine and Russia.
According to Axios, the next round of trilateral talks is scheduled for February 1 in Abu Dhabi.
US officials also do not rule out that a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin could take place in the near future.
Russia wants to take Donbas
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously stated that the territorial issue, primarily regarding Donbas, is key. It was discussed by the delegations of Ukraine, Russia, and the United States during talks in Abu Dhabi.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukrainian troops withdraw from Donbas to conclude a peace agreement to end the war. This is one of Russia's key demands.
At the same time, the Institute for the Study of War notes that Russia's territorial and political demands are significantly broader than statements about Donbas that the Kremlin voices to Western audiences.
According to media reports, during the meeting in Abu Dhabi, the delegations of Ukraine and the United States discussed the deployment of neutral peacekeeping forces in the occupied part of the Donetsk region.
