In brief

• Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators are set to hold two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, the first round since February, focused on security guarantees.
• France says European countries will take part, after Trump signalled a broad deal with Russia covering all of Europe.
• NATO says Brussels talks aimed at a just and lasting end to the war, while Moscow and Kyiv still disagree on territory.

Talks in Abu Dhabi

Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators are preparing to meet in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for two days of talks. It would be their first round since February, and the main item is security guarantees for any settlement that might end a conflict that has run for nearly five years. (Ką reikia žinoti apie būsimas Rusijos, Ukrainos ir JAV atstovų taikos derybas – Bernardinai.lt) Earlier meetings this year produced no clear progress.

Europe's role

France said on Sunday that European countries would be represented at the Abu Dhabi talks, with its foreign minister saying Paris would be there to make sure a European voice is heard. (Eiropa būs pārstāvēta ASV, Krievijas un Ukrainas sarunās Abū Dabī, paziņo Francijas ārlietu ministrs – DELFI.lv) (Prancūzija: JAV tarpininkaujamose derybose dėl Ukrainos Europa dalyvaus – Bernardinai.lt) The announcement came after US President Donald Trump said he expected a "very big" deal with Russia that would cover not only Ukraine but "all of Europe", which raised concern in European capitals about Washington moving closer to the Kremlin. (Europa atmeta JAV siekį susitarime su Rusija sukurti naują „saugumo architektūrą“ – vz.lt)

Before the Abu Dhabi round, officials from the United States, Europe, Ukraine and NATO met in Brussels on Thursday. A NATO spokesperson said the participants sought to speed up a just and lasting end to the war. (Ukrainos sąjungininkės siekia „teisingos ir tvarios“ karo pabaigos, sako NATO – Diena.lt) Jared Kushner, the US president's envoy, joined by video and said Washington was working on a wider European security architecture.

Diverging positions

Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on the core terms. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from four regions that Russia annexed early in the war but has not fully taken. European officials have rejected any US plan to redraw the continent's security framework as part of a deal with Moscow, arguing that the existing European security order already exists and that the problem is Russia's repeated breaches of its commitments.

Local ceasefire

Last month a local truce around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine held for a week. It was brokered with the help of US First Lady Melania Trump and allowed some residents to be evacuated and aid to be delivered. Both sides called it a positive example, but fighting along the roughly 1,200-kilometre front continued, and both countries stepped up long-range drone and missile strikes.