The trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi has been “productive,” a White House official told NBC
The three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US in Abu Dhabi will continue on Saturday, multiple media outlets have reported.
The sides met in a trilateral format for the first time since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine erupted in February 2022. No official statements were issued after the first day of talks concluded.
“Nobody is walking away from the table,” a person familiar with the matter told the Russian news agency TASS.
A White House official separately told NBC News that the talks had been “productive.”
The Kremlin said the Russian team, led by presidential aide Yury Ushakov and Admiral Igor Kostyukov, the head of GRU military intelligence, will focus on security matters.
“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,” Ushakov told reporters before the meeting.
All three parties said the territorial issue remains the biggest obstacle to a peace deal. Moscow has long demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from parts of Russian territory under its control and recognize Russia’s new borders. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has ruled out making such concessions.
Last year, US President Donald Trump proposed a 28-point roadmap to peace, urging Ukraine to cede some territory to Russia. Officials in Kiev, as well as Ukraine’s backers in Europe, rejected the plan as too favorable to Moscow. Russia, in turn, accused the EU of seeking to sabotage the talks and prolong the conflict.
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