Abu Dhabi: Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States are set to meet in Abu Dhabi on Saturday for a second day of talks on a plan promoted by US President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year-long war. The first known direct contact between Ukrainian and Russian officials on the proposal took place on Friday.
Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said discussions focused on “the parameters for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the negotiation process.”An initial US draft drew sharp criticism in Kyiv and Western Europe for aligning too closely with Moscow’s position, while later versions faced Russian objections over suggestions of deploying European peacekeepers. Both sides say the status of territory in the eastern Donbas region remains one of the key unresolved issues in efforts to end a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and devastated large parts of Ukraine.
The UAE foreign ministry said the talks would last two days and were part of “ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis.”Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, while US envoy Steve Witkoff later held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.
The Abu Dhabi talks come as Russian strikes left thousands of people in Kyiv without heating during sub-zero temperatures. The European Union accused Moscow of “deliberately depriving civilians of heat” after sending hundreds of generators to Ukraine. Further overnight attacks killed one person and injured 22 others in Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, authorities said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned residents to remain in shelters as non-residential buildings were hit. Despite renewed diplomatic momentum, Moscow and Kyiv remain deadlocked over territorial demands. Following Putin’s meeting with Witkoff, the Kremlin reiterated its insistence that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the eastern Donbas region.
“Russia’s position is well known: Ukrainian armed forces must leave the territory of the Donbas,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, calling it a “very important condition.” Kyiv, which still controls about 20 percent of the region, has rejected the demand. Zelensky said territory remains a “key issue” and later wrote online that ending the war requires a genuine desire for peace from Russia as well as Ukraine.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators last met face-to-face in Istanbul last summer, holding talks that resulted only in prisoner exchanges. The Abu Dhabi meeting marks their first direct engagement on the Trump administration’s proposal. Putin has warned that Russia will seek full control of eastern Ukraine by force if negotiations fail. While Kremlin officials say Moscow is interested in a diplomatic resolution, they stress that Russia will continue pursuing its objectives on the battlefield until an agreement is reached. Trump has repeatedly said he believes Putin and Zelensky are close to a deal, though he has also pressured Ukraine to accept terms Kyiv views as unacceptable.
