It is too early to speak of restoring trust between Moscow and Kyiv after the talks in Abu Dhabi, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.
“It would not be right to speak now of restoring trust between the two countries. We do not frame the issue in this way,” Ryabkov said, as quoted by TASS.
The Russian diplomat nevertheless pointed out that the talks could lay the groundwork for further work. In his words, if there is sufficient political will, it may be possible to build “something functional” that could help avoid an uncontrollable escalation. His statement does not mean that Moscow considers the process to have resulted in the restoration of relations or trust between the two countries.
Two-Day Talks Mediated by the United States
The talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi took place over two days with the mediation of the United States. After they concluded, U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The two were met at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport by Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president’s special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries. They also held talks with the Kremlin’s diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ushakov.
The trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi took place on November 10 and 11. In his subsequent statement, Ryabkov described the possibility of building workable mechanisms as dependent on political will, but did not point to any specific agreement to restore trust between Moscow and Kyiv.
Sources: bta.bg, tass.com