Trump envoy hails ‘very constructive’ Russia-US-Ukraine talks
US President Donald Trump’s top negotiator Steve Witkoff praised the first Russia-US-Ukraine meeting in Abu Dhabi, saying the sides agreed to resume negotiations next week.
The two-day meeting in the Emirati capital, which concluded on Saturday, marked the first time negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, and the US sat together since the conflict between Moscow and Kiev erupted in February 2022. The parties have remained largely tight-lipped about the outcome of the discussions.
In a post on X on Saturday, Witkoff, who led the American delegation alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, said the talks were “very constructive” and that plans were made to continue discussions next week in Abu Dhabi. He added that Trump was committed to negotiating a peace deal.
The talks in Abu Dhabi took place shortly after Witkoff and Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, while Trump spoke with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
All three parties have acknowledged that territorial disputes remain the main obstacle to a peace settlement. Moscow maintains that a sustainable deal is only possible if Ukraine withdraws its troops from the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye, which voted to join Russia in 2022, and formally recognizes Russia’s new borders, including Crimea. Zelensky has ruled out any territorial concessions.
Putin’s top aide Yury Ushakov, who attended the Abu Dhabi talks, told reporters before the meeting that Russia had the battlefield initiative and would achieve its objectives militarily unless a diplomatic solution is found.
