Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are meeting in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday under US mediation, resuming direct talks after a break of more than eight months, though expectations of a breakthrough remain low.

The American delegation is led by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who laid the groundwork for the talks with a visit to Moscow in September followed by a trip to Kyiv. Rustem Umerov heads Ukraine's team, while Russia's delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky. Kushner said the aim was for both sides to discuss directly their concerns over "post-war security" and to push towards "concrete solutions".

The previous round, held in Geneva in February, produced no substantive results. Contacts then broke down entirely after war erupted in the Arab region following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

European representatives are also travelling to the UAE for separate talks with the Ukrainian and American delegations, while Moscow seeks to keep Europe out of the process. European capitals fear Kyiv could be pressed into unfavourable terms, particularly after President Donald Trump predicted a "very big" deal with Russia covering "all of Europe".

The two sides remain far apart. Moscow is demanding a redefinition of the "European security architecture" and the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the entire Donetsk region. Kyiv rejects any pullback and is seeking robust security guarantees to deter future Russian attacks, while the Kremlin opposes the deployment of any European peacekeepers.

A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that Kyiv was "not expecting anything specific" from the talks. Berlin said it now remained to be seen "whether Russia is ready to negotiate seriously".