The closed-door negotiations are aimed at resolving territorial disputes between Moscow and Kiev
Russian, American, and Ukrainian officials have sat down to the first round of trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed. After a week of public diplomacy in Davos, the talks are taking place behind closed doors.
In a statement on Friday, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan welcomed the start of negotiations, saying that “sustainable solutions to conflicts can only be achieved through dialogue and de-escalation.”
The meeting is being held at an undisclosed location, and “the press is not expected,” TASS reported.
The trilateral meeting was announced by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky on Thursday, and confirmed shortly afterwards by Washington and Moscow. It follows multiple rounds of diplomacy by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have met separately with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin on multiple occasions over the last year, most recently on Thursday night at the Kremlin.
The Russian delegation is headed by GRU military intelligence chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov, senior Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters on Thursday night. The rest of the delegation will be made up of military personnel, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Ukraine is represented by national security chief Rustem Umerov, general staff chief Andrey Gnatov, negotiator David Arakhamia, deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislitsa, and Kirill Budanov, the former military intelligence chief who now heads Zelensky’s office, Zelensky said on Friday.
Washington is represented by Witkoff and Kushner. Witkoff is expected to meet Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev separately to discuss economic issues, Peskov said.
All three parties have said that the issue of territory – or how much of the Donbass Zelensky is willing to abandon his claim to – remains the biggest obstacle to a deal. The Donbass regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, along with Kherson and Zaporozhye, voted to join the Russian Federation in 2022, eight years after Crimea rejoined Russia by popular vote.
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“It’s all about the land. This is the issue which is not solved yet,” Zelensky told reporters in Davos, before declaring that “the Russians have to be ready for compromises, not only Ukraine.”
“Without resolving the territorial issue according to the formula agreed upon in Anchorage, there is no hope of achieving a long-term settlement,” Ushakov said, referring to US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last year.
“We remain interested in resolving the Ukrainian crisis by political and diplomatic means. However, if it does not happen, Russia will continue accomplishing its goals on the battlefield where Russian troops have the initiative,” he added.
Trump met with Zelensky in Davos on Thursday, and described the conversation as “good.” Zelensky, however, walked away without securing an agreement on post-conflict security guarantees from the US.
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