US, Ukraine, Russia Hold First Trilateral Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi

By Staff, Agencies

Russia, Ukraine, and United States negotiators met Friday in Abu Dhabi for the first direct talks on a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year war.

The US initially drafted a plan to end the conflict that was heavily criticized in Kiev and western Europe for being too close to Russia's line, while later proposals were criticized by Moscow for floating the idea of European peacekeepers.

Ahead of Friday's talks, which are set to continue on Saturday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said territory remained the key issue – with Moscow having said it is not dropping its demand that Kiev pull out of its eastern Donbas region.

After the first day of talks, Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov posted on social media that the meeting had focused "on the parameters for ending Russia's war and the further logic of the negotiation process", adding that meetings were scheduled for Saturday.

The UAE foreign ministry said in an earlier statement the talks were scheduled to last two days and were "part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis".

Trump met Zelensky in Davos and US envoy Witkoff met Putin, while Russian strikes left thousands in Kiev without heat, killed seven civilians, and highlighted the deadlock over territory despite renewed diplomacy.

Hours after Putin met Witkoff – and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner – in Moscow, the Kremlin said its maximalist demand that Kiev withdraw from the eastern Donbas region still stood.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia insists Ukrainian forces must leave the Donbas, calling it “a very important condition.”

Kiev, which still controls around 20% of the eastern region, has rejected such terms.

Both sides say the fate of territory in Ukraine's east is one of the main outstanding issues in the search for a settlement to a war that has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and decimated eastern Ukraine.

Zelensky called the Donbas “a key issue” and said he and Trump agreed on post-war security guarantees, adding that ending the war requires Russia to share Ukraine’s desire for full security.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are last known to have met face-to-face in Istanbul last summer, in talks that ended only in deals to exchange captured soldiers.

The Abu Dhabi meeting is the first time they have faced each other to talk about the Trump administration's plan.

Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to get full control of eastern Ukraine by force if talks fail. 

After talks with the US, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow is "genuinely interested in resolving" the war diplomatically but will continue pursuing its objectives on the battlefield until then.

Trump, who has previously pressured Ukraine toward terms it views as capitulation, said Wednesday he believes Putin and Zelensky are close to a deal, adding that if they don’t agree, “they’re stupid – that goes for both of them.”