US, Russia, Ukraine Discuss Territory in Trilateral Talks

Trilateral talks between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine have begun in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Jan. 23.

The talks centered on resolving the issue of territory, with no solutions so far.

Russia has demanded Kyiv surrender its entire eastern industrial area of Donbas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia’s insistence on gaining all of Donbas was “a very important condition.”

Zelenskyy has refused to give in to Moscow’s demands over Ukraine’s 20 percent of the Donetsk region of the Donbas. Ukraine’s portion is roughly 1,900 square miles.

“The most important thing is that Russia should be ready to end this war, which it started,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram. “We’ll see how the conversation goes tomorrow and what the outcome will be.”

The two-day talks, scheduled to continue Saturday, were the first to include both Russian and Ukrainian envoys as well as American mediators, Zelenskyy said.

“The talks commenced today in Abu Dhabi and are scheduled to continue over two days, as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis,” the UAE ministry said in a statement.

It added that Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan “expressed his hope that these discussions would contribute to tangible steps toward ending a crisis that has persisted for nearly four years and resulted in immense humanitarian suffering.”

The talks were earlier confirmed to be going ahead by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov.

Ushakov announced the talks on Jan. 22 following a meeting in Moscow between Putin, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

“It has been agreed that the first meeting of the trilateral working group on security issues will take place today, that is, on Friday, January 23, in Abu Dhabi,” he said, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

The Russian delegation will be led by Igor Kostyukov, director of Russia’s military intelligence organization, the GRU, Ushakov said.

“Our security negotiating team has already been formed and will depart for the Emirates in the coming hours,” he said.

Ushakov added that the United States had done a great deal of preparation for the summit, saying “they hope that this meeting will be successful” and will open up prospects for reaching an agreement on a peaceful settlement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Jan. 23 that the question of territory would be at the forefront of discussions in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.

Responding to questions in a WhatsApp media chat a day after meeting with Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskyy described territory as a top priority.

“The question of Donbas is key. It will be discussed how the three sides … see this in Abu Dhabi today and tomorrow,” he said.

Moscow Meeting

Discussing the earlier meeting in Moscow, Ushakov told reporters that the talks had been “substantive, constructive, and very frank,” without suggesting that any diplomatic breakthroughs had yet been achieved.

“Most importantly, during these talks between our president and the Americans, it was reiterated that without resolving the territorial issue according to the formula agreed upon in Anchorage, there is no hope of achieving a long-term settlement,” he said, referring to last year’s summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska.

The meeting, which also included Josh Gruenbaum—who was recently appointed by Trump as senior adviser for his Board of Peace—began at the Kremlin shortly before midnight local time and lasted four hours.

The meeting marks the seventh time the Russian president has met with Witkoff, with the last such head-to-head taking place in the Russian capital on Dec. 2 last year.

Trump Says War Will End ‘Pretty Soon’

During his Jan. 22 speech unveiling his Board of Peace in Davos, Trump said that he believed an end to the war would be coming “pretty soon.”

The comments built on earlier remarks made by the U.S. president on Jan. 21, when he said: “I think I can say that we’re reasonably close. … We have to get it stopped. … I believe they’re at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done.”

That view was backed by Witkoff and Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanishyna.

Ahead of the Moscow meeting, Witkoff said that there had been “lots of progress in the last six to eight weeks,” and that “hopefully we’ll have something good to announce soon.”

“I just sense that everybody wants a peace there, that it’s time,” he added.

Separately, Stefanishyna told Fox News on Jan. 22 that she thought they were close to a breakthrough.

“Our team is already on its way to Abu Dhabi to start the trilateral talks, while bilaterally between Ukraine and the United States, most of the steps have been agreed,” she said.

Kimberly Hayek and Reuters contributed to this report.