Ukraine and Russia negotiators are set to focus on the sensitive issue of territory during two days of talks in Abu Dhabi starting on Friday, with both sides signalling that their positions remain unchanged despite growing pressure to end the war.
The negotiations come as Ukraine faces increased pressure from the United States to reach a peace agreement in the conflict sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Moscow has insisted that Kyiv must relinquish control of the eastern industrial region of Donbas before any fighting can stop.
Zelenskiy: Donbas Is the Key Issue
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the dispute over territory would dominate the next round of talks in the United Arab Emirates.
“The question of Donbas is key,” Zelenskiy said in response to questions during a WhatsApp media briefing. He added that all three parties — Ukraine, Russia and the United States — would discuss how the issue should be addressed during meetings scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
His comments came a day after talks with US President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which both leaders described as constructive.
An aide to Zelenskiy said the talks in Abu Dhabi would begin on Friday evening and resume on Saturday morning.
Putin’s Demands Remain a Major Obstacle
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine hand over the roughly 20% of the Donetsk region it still controls — an area of about 5,000 square kilometres — a condition that has become one of the main barriers to a breakthrough.
Zelenskiy has repeatedly rejected surrendering territory that Ukraine has managed to defend through years of costly, attritional fighting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia’s insistence on Ukraine yielding Donbas remained “a very important condition” for any settlement.
A source close to the Kremlin said Moscow views the so-called “Anchorage formula,” discussed by Trump and Putin at a summit last August, as granting Russia control of all Donbas while freezing current front lines elsewhere in eastern and southern Ukraine.
First Trilateral Talks Since the War Began
Zelenskiy said the Abu Dhabi meetings would mark the first trilateral talks involving Ukrainian and Russian envoys alongside US mediators since the war began.
Last year, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met face to face in Istanbul for the first time since 2022. In November, a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official also held discussions with US and Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi.
Russia’s delegation in the UAE is being led by Admiral Igor Kostyukov, while Ukraine’s team is headed by Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council.
Security Guarantees and Frozen Assets
Zelenskiy said a deal on US security guarantees for Ukraine was ready, adding that he was awaiting confirmation from Trump on when and where it would be signed.
Kyiv has sought firm security assurances from Western allies to prevent any renewed Russian invasion after a potential peace deal.
Russia, meanwhile, has suggested using most of the nearly $5 billion in Russian assets frozen in the United States to help rebuild Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. Ukraine, backed by European allies, has demanded that the funds be used instead for reparations.
Zelenskiy dismissed Moscow’s proposal, calling it “nonsense,” and said Ukraine would continue pushing for access to all frozen Russian assets.
War Continues as Winter Bites
Ukraine is enduring its harshest winter of the war as Russia intensifies missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure. With temperatures well below freezing, hundreds of thousands of residents in Kyiv and other cities have faced extended power outages and a lack of heating.
Kyiv says the strikes show Moscow has little genuine interest in peace. Russia counters that it remains open to diplomacy but will continue pursuing its military objectives until a negotiated settlement is reached.