Russia will take part in trilateral peace talks with the United States and Ukraine for the first time, with the meeting scheduled to hold today in Abu Dhabi, the Kremlin has confirmed.
The development follows talks between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Davos, as well as a separate meeting between an American delegation and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The Kremlin confirmed Russia’s participation after Putin held four hours of talks on Thursday night with Trump’s peace envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Russian officials described the discussions as “exceptionally substantive, constructive, and extremely frank and trusting,” while cautioning that a breakthrough was not guaranteed.
Moscow reiterated its long-standing position that a lasting settlement would be impossible unless territorial issues are resolved, referencing understandings discussed at last year’s Trump–Putin summit in Alaska. It added that Russia would continue military operations until a diplomatic agreement is reached.
Zelenskyy appeared to suggest that the trilateral meeting was a last-minute initiative from Washington, arranged only after his meeting with Trump on Thursday in Davos.
Kyiv said it would be represented by its lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, and Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov. Moscow, meanwhile, said Admiral Igor Kostyukov would head the Russian delegation at the UAE-based security talks.
Although no deal was reached when Trump and Putin met in Alaska in August, the leaders are believed to have discussed the possibility of Ukraine relinquishing territory in exchange for an end to the fighting. Putin reportedly told the US president that Russia wanted the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including areas not currently under Russian control.
Zelenskyy has previously said Moscow was seeking control of the rest of Donetsk, effectively the entire eastern Donbas region, as part of a ceasefire proposal. He said Ukraine would reject such terms, warning that they would strip the country of its crucial defensive “fortress belt” and leave it vulnerable to further Russian offensives.
The agreement on trilateral talks comes after Zelenskyy publicly expressed frustration with Europe’s response to the war during a forceful speech in Davos. He accused European leaders of inaction and warned the continent against repeating the same mistakes.
“Just last year here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words ‘Europe needs to know how to defend itself’ — a year has passed and nothing has changed,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later pushed back, saying Europe’s support for Ukraine had been substantial and consistent. She said the European Union had committed more than €193bn over the past four years, with an additional €90bn approved for the next two years.
Zelenskyy’s remarks followed what he described as a positive meeting with Trump, during which he said a peace plan was “nearly ready.” However, both Kyiv and Moscow remain focused on territorial disagreements and persuading Washington to support their respective red lines.
Zelenskyy left the Davos forum saying Ukraine had secured agreements on a new air defence package and claimed Russian forces were suffering losses of about 45,000 troops each month.
