White House cautiously upbeat about Russia-Ukraine peace talks this week

• White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have worked for weeks to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to restart negotiations. President Trump and his team hope Putin will be more willing to compromise after the U.S. lifted sanctions on Russian diesel sales and took other steps welcomed by Moscow.
• "The relations we have built with Putin will be instrumental in these negotiations," a U.S. official said.
• After the meetings in Abu Dhabi, Witkoff and Kushner may travel to Moscow and Kyiv to speak directly with Putin and Zelensky, a U.S. official said.

Yes, but: The parties remain far apart, particularly over potential territorial concessions by Ukraine. Russia's escalating attacks on Ukrainian cities and Putin's refusal to agree to a ceasefire have cast doubt on prospects for meaningful progress.

Behind the scenes: Over the last two weeks, Witkoff and Kushner had daily phone calls — sometimes multiple times a day — with Russian and Ukrainian officials to prepare for the upcoming talks, U.S. officials said.

What they're saying: U.S. officials who briefed reporters on Monday struck a positive tone despite skepticism in Europe and Ukraine about Putin's willingness to end the war.

• "There is a shot to make significant progress towards a deal and to try and bridge the gaps," a U.S. official said. "Getting the parties back to the table wasn't easy to do and we see promising signs as mediators."
• The official added that Witkoff and Kushner want to use the talks to "crystallize" the decisions Putin and Zelensky will have to make.

Driving the news: The talks in Abu Dhabi will focus on two tracks:

• A military working group led by the commander of U.S. European command, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, will discuss post-war ceasefire monitoring and security arrangements. The working group made significant progress on this front during the last round of talks in February.
• A political working group that focuses on the most sensitive topic: territorial demands. There was no progress on this issue in February.

State of play: The two sides haven't budged publicly. Russia is demanding control over the entire region of Donbas, while Ukraine insists that territory be divided based on current front lines.

• In private, though, U.S. officials say that both sides "have shown a little bit of flexibility" on the territorial issue in recent weeks.
• They say an agreement on territory won't be possible until security guarantees are reached.

The big picture: Witkoff and Kushner invited senior officials from NATO, the EU and four major European powers — the UK, France, Germany and Italy — to Abu Dhabi to hold separate discussions on the sidelines of the Russia-Ukraine negotiations.

• Ukraine's European allies will play a key role in any post-war security arrangements.
• The U.S. also wants to start a third track of negotiations between European countries and Russia to create new ways of easing tensions and avoiding conflict.
• But many European countries are highly suspicious of the idea. They believe it endorses a Russian narrative that Europe is a security threat to Moscow and worry it will result in weakening NATO.
• U.S. officials stress that the proposed Europe-Russia security initiative would not replace or diminish NATO and the central role it plays in protecting Europe.
• But a new security agreement between Europe and Russia would help end the war in Ukraine, they say.
• A U.S. official said Witkoff and Kushner hope Russians will agree to include European representatives in the next round of peace talks after Abu Dhabi.

What to watch: Ukrainian officials say they have three priorities for the talks:

• Clinching a deal to de-escalate tensions on the Black Sea and allow grain exports.
• Reaching an agreement to stop attacks on Ukrainian power plants and Russian oil refineries before the winter.
• Organizing a trilateral summit between Trump, Putin and Zelensky, possibly during the G20 summit in Miami next month.