The Monocle Daily Rare trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US cap a week of geopolitical change
27 snips
Jan 23, 2026 
Guest
Andrew Muller
Guest
Fernando Augusto Pacheco
Guest
Carlotta Rebello
Guest
Mark Edelman
Guest
Charles Hecker
Andrew Muller, satirical world-commentator; Fernando Augusto Pacheco, culture and film aficionado; Carlotta Rebello, Davos-based foreign correspondent; Mark Edelman, US political strategist; Charles Hecker, Russia analyst. They unpack the rare US-Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi, the limits of concessions, Trump-era envoys and US leverage, Davos diplomacy, China and India’s presence, and weekend culture picks.
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Playing Student At The Kennedy School
- Mark Edelman described pretending to be a student at Harvard's Kennedy School and wearing a backpack to fit in.
- He framed the period as a brief 'spring break' that brought him to London afterward.
Moscow: Inexhaustible, Brash And Forbidden
- Charles Hecker nostalgically described Moscow as a 24-hour, inexhaustible city where "everything is possible and nothing is forbidden."
- He compared its energy to Dubai but with much more snow.
High-Stakes Tripartite Talks In The UAE
- The UAE hosted the first trilateral US-Russia-Ukraine talks since 2022 with senior security delegations but no presidents present.
- Charles Hecker warns that territory and security guarantees remain the intractable sticking points, making a durable deal unlikely soon.
