Ukraine, Russia and the US Meet in Abu Dhabi

What is Ukraine hoping to achieve at this meeting?

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, said he has restrained optimism. In other words, he sees some hope, but he is careful. He said the talks could bring progress towards a future meeting between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Why does he believe there is hope now?

Budanov said all sides wanted this meeting to happen. He said that showed there were reasons for the talks to take place. He also said these negotiations would not be the last.

What will the delegations discuss?

The discussions will focus on security guarantees after the war for Ukraine and Russia. These are promises or plans to provide security after a war ends.

Who will represent Ukraine at the talks?

Ukraine's delegation will be led by Rustem Umerov, the country's top negotiator. Budanov will join the Ukrainian delegation. Before leading the Presidential Office, Budanov led Ukraine's Defence Intelligence service.

And who is expected to represent the other two sides?

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to represent Washington. Russia's team will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Putin. Medinsky also led Russia's delegation in earlier rounds of negotiations.

The talks come after difficult weeks between Ukraine and the United States. How does Budanov see that relationship?

He said he remains optimistic about it. He spoke about problems with SpaceX's Starshield satellite networks and some air-defence systems. Access was later restored, weeks after the problems began.

So, he says the problems were serious, but they were resolved?

Yes. Budanov said the situation was bad and should not have happened. However, he said it was resolved in one way or another, and that gave him optimism for the future.

What is happening in Ukraine as the meeting approaches?

Ukraine's energy ministry said strikes this week hit energy facilities in 10 regions. Hundreds of thousands of households lost electricity. Much of Kyiv also lost water for more than 16 hours. The Abu Dhabi talks are the next step, while a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin remains a future possibility.

Thank you, Chloe.

The United States is asking China to act on promises in a trade agreement.

Ethan is LinguaWire's correspondent for world affairs, and he has been following the discussions.

Hello, Daniel. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met China's Vice Premier He Lifeng. They urged China to fully and immediately carry out commitments from the Busan trade agreement.

What did the United States say during the meeting?

The US Treasury said Bessent raised concerns about recent Chinese actions. It said progress depends on concrete results, meaning real actions. The United States also said it will closely assess how China carries out the agreement.

What was the Busan agreement meant to do?

It was a deal negotiated by Washington and Beijing. President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to ease tariffs and lift restrictions on technology. Tariffs are taxes on imported goods. The aim was to reduce trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.

What has China said about its side of the deal?

China's Commerce Ministry said it is open to buying more US farm goods. However, it said both sides must carry out their agreed tariff cuts.

How did China describe those tariff cuts?

China called the arrangement “30 billion for 30 billion”. Its statement said China would expand purchases of US agricultural products only if both sides put that reciprocal tariff-reduction arrangement into action.

Why are farm goods important in these talks?

After a meeting between Trump and Xi in September, the White House proposed 60 billion dollars in cuts. That included 17 billion dollars of US farm goods. In May, the White House said Beijing had agreed to buy 17 billion dollars of US agricultural goods each year from 2026.

Was that the only Chinese promise to buy US goods?

No. The White House said those agricultural purchases were in addition to a commitment made last October to buy US soya beans. It also said this year's agricultural target was adjusted because the year was already partly complete.

What is Washington's wider message now?

The Treasury said the Trump administration wants trade and economic policies that benefit US workers, farmers and businesses. It also said the policies should strengthen US economic and national security. The next step is for the United States to assess whether China takes the actions it promised.

Thank you, Ethan.

Part one: vocabulary.

Commitment.

A commitment is a promise. In the story, “They urged China to fully and immediately carry out commitments from the Busan trade agreement.”

Our team made a commitment to finish the work.

Concrete.

Concrete means real and clear, not just ideas. In the story, “It said progress depends on concrete results, meaning real actions.”

We need concrete plans for the project.

Assess.

Assess means to examine and judge something. In the story, “The United States also said it will closely assess how China carries out the agreement.”

The teacher will assess our work tomorrow.

Part two: the grammar.

Articles: the.

Use “the” for a specific thing that the speaker and listener can identify. Here, “the aim” means the specific aim of the trade agreement.

In the story, “The aim was to reduce trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.”

The aim is to learn English.

Repeat after me: The aim was to reduce trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.