Whitkoff says ‘significant work remains’ as second day of US-led peace talks in Abu Dhabi concludes: What we know on day 1,444
Ukraine and Russia concluded a second round of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on Thursday aimed at ending Europe’s biggest conflict since the second world war, with the two sides conducting a major prisoner swap and agreeing to resume negotiations soon. But Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy involved in the talks, cautioned that “significant work remains” in the weeks ahead, dampening expectations of any swift move towards peace. The meetings marked the most substantive engagement between senior delegations from Kyiv and Moscow in months, pointing to a tentative, if uncertain, revival of diplomatic efforts nearly four years into the war.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday said more US sanctions against Russia depended on talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year-old Ukraine war. Bessent said he would consider new sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet – a step Trump has not taken since returning to office in January 2025. His comments come after Ukraine and Russia concluded a second day of US-led talks in Abu Dhabi on Thursday without a breakthrough in ending the conflict. “I will take it under consideration. We will see where the peace talks go,” Bessent said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. He said the Trump administration’s sanctions against Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil had helped bring Russia to the negotiating table in the peace talks.
