Russia, the US, and Ukraine will have trilateral talks after the Kremlin deems a meeting with Trump envoys “useful”
The US, Russia, and Ukraine are getting ready for a rare trilateral meeting as the Kremlin characterizes the Moscow meeting with Trump envoys as beneficial.
In what officials believe will be the first negotiations involving all three nations since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States are meeting in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Following overnight negotiations in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s envoys, the Kremlin characterized the discussions as “useful” and “very frank.” Little information, meanwhile, has surfaced regarding the topics covered or how they might influence the negotiations in Abu Dhabi.
Trump is sending envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to the United Arab Emirates from Moscow. The director of the GRU military intelligence agency, General Igor Kostyukov, is leading Russia’s team. Investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev is also in the nation for separate talks.
Leading negotiator David Arakhamia, presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, director of the national security and defense council Rustem Umerov, and chief of general staff Andrii Hnatov are among the high-ranking officials that Ukraine is sending.
It is yet unknown when formal negotiations will start, whether negotiators from all three nations will meet in the same room, and whether the talks will result in any tangible agreements. A 20-point peace plan created by the United States is essentially finished, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but there are still differences, especially over territory in eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky said he and Trump had come to an agreement on future US security assurances for Ukraine in the case of a peace agreement during his remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday. But he emphasized that the land issue is still open, stating: “It’s all about the land.”
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump stated that he thought Putin and Zelensky wanted to come to a deal, but he added, “We’ll find out.”
European leaders expressed concerns about security, governance, and the future course of international diplomacy during the talks, which coincide with a flurry of diplomatic activity in Davos, where Trump also met with Zelensky and announced his new Board of Peace.
