Peace negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine are set to continue Saturday in Abu Dhabi, bringing together officials from Ukraine, Russia and the United States in an uncommon round of three-way talks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the discussions are expected to focus heavily on the future of the eastern Donbas region, a central battleground in the nearly four-year war.
Donbas at the Heart of the Discussions
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian negotiators have been providing him with frequent updates, underlining the importance of the talks. “There haven’t been trilateral meetings like this for a long time,” he said in a video posted on social media.
He stressed that Kyiv is looking for concrete answers from Moscow. “The key is that Russia must be ready to end this war — the war it itself started,” Zelenskyy said, while cautioning that it remains too early to draw firm conclusions about the outcome.
The talks began Friday and will continue into Saturday. The White House described the first day as productive, while the UAE’s foreign ministry said the meetings are part of broader efforts to encourage dialogue and find a political solution to the conflict.
Russia Holds Firm on Territory
Moscow released few details about the negotiations, referring to them only as a “working group on security issues.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia continues to view the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from eastern Donbas as a key condition for any settlement.
Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, who took part in talks with US representatives, said a lasting agreement would not be possible without resolving territorial questions. He described the discussions with the United States as frank and constructive. Russian state media reported that possible buffer zones and control mechanisms were also on the agenda.
Friday’s talks marked the first known instance in which officials from the Trump administration were engaged simultaneously with both Ukrainian and Russian negotiators — a development some observers see as a modest step forward, despite the many unresolved issues.
Who’s at the Table — and What Comes Next
Russia’s delegation is led by Admiral Igor Kostyukov and is made up largely of military officials. Kremlin officials said Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev would separately meet US envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss economic matters.
Washington confirmed that Witkoff and Jared Kushner are attending the Abu Dhabi talks, joined by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and NATO’s top military commander, US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich. Ukraine is represented by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, armed forces chief Andrii Hnatov and presidential office head Kyrylo Budanov.
The talks follow a flurry of diplomacy earlier in the week. On Thursday, Witkoff and Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for hours-long discussions, during which the Kremlin reiterated that any peace deal would require Ukraine to withdraw from territories Russia claims but does not fully control. The same day, Zelenskyy said after meeting US President Donald Trump in Davos that peace proposals are “nearly ready,” though the issue of occupied land remains unresolved.
Zelenskyy also said he is open to the idea of establishing a free trade zone in parts of eastern Ukraine under Kyiv’s control, calling it a potentially positive move for Ukrainian businesses as the country looks ahead to recovery.
