The United States, Russia and Ukraine ended the first round of trilateral talks without reaching a decision on the war. Representatives from the three countries met this Saturday in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. This Saturday, the second day of negotiations, the meeting lasted around three hours.
After the meeting, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that the negotiations focus on “possible criteria for ending the war”. He said there was the possibility of new meetings as early as next week.
“Our delegation presented a report; the meetings in the United Arab Emirates were concluded. And this was the first format of its kind in a long time: two days of trilateral meetings. There was a lot of debate and it is important that the conversations were constructive”, highlighted Zelensky in a message on the social network X.
The Ukrainian president added that the central theme of the talks was “the possible criteria for ending the war” and said he highly valued the recognition of “the need for the United States to supervise and control the process of ending the war and guarantee real security”.
He mentioned that the American side raised the issue of possible formats to establish the parameters for the end of the war, in addition to the security conditions necessary for this.
According to the Ukrainian leader, military representatives identified a list of issues for a possible next meeting. He stated that “if there is a willingness to move forward — and Ukraine is willing — new meetings will be held, possibly as early as next week.”
A Russian source also commented to the TASS agency that “there are possibilities” that the second round will be held in the coming days.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will turn four years old in February.
Deadlock over Donbass region
Both sides and mediators acknowledged during Friday’s day that the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass is the main obstacle in trilateral negotiations.
“This issue remains the most complex. For Russia, the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Army from Donbass is important. For this, different security parameters are being considered,” an official source told “TASS”.
Russia is categorically opposed to sending Western troops to the territory of the neighboring country, while Kiev demands guarantees that oblige the US and its European allies to defend it in the event of new Russian aggression, in accordance with Article 5 of NATO.
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved holding trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi after meeting in the early hours of Friday with White House emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky did the same after meeting on Thursday with US President Donald Trump during the Davos World Economic Forum.
The Russian delegation, which had promised to raise the level of representation of its team led in the three previous bilateral meetings by a presidential advisor, is led by Admiral Ígor Kostiukov, “number two” of the General Staff and head of military intelligence, and includes only military personnel, according to the Kremlin.
The Ukrainian delegation is made up, among others, of the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Budanov; by the leader of the parliamentary group of Zelensky’s party, David Arajamia; and the secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov
