Ukraine and Russia to resume trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday

Ukraine to Host Second Round of Trilateral Talks with Russia

A second round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States is set to take place in Abu Dhabi this week. The negotiations, which follow a previous session that made little progress on key issues, aim to address the ongoing conflict.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, envoys from the three countries will meet in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday. Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is willing to engage in substantive discussions with Russia, with the goal of reaching a more substantial agreement.

The first round of talks, held in late January, did not yield significant progress on the issue of territory. Moscow has continued to demand that Kyiv cede control over a fifth of the Donetsk region, which remains under Russian occupation. Ukraine’s government has refused to comply with this request.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he had reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to suspend strikes on energy targets for a week due to cold weather. The terms of the agreement were not specified, but the Kremlin confirmed that it would halt strikes on energy infrastructure until Sunday.

US envoy Steve Witkoff reported constructive talks with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Florida, attended by other US officials including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Jared Kushner. Witkoff expressed optimism about the meeting, stating that Russia is working towards securing peace in Ukraine.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also weighed in on the situation, praising Trump as a “peacemaker” and expressing confidence that Russia would soon achieve a military victory in the Ukraine war. However, he emphasized the importance of considering what will happen after a potential victory, to prevent new conflicts.

The talks come amid ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia, with both sides reporting minimal strikes on their energy infrastructure in recent days. In southeastern Ukraine, two people were killed overnight in a drone strike on a residential building in Dnipro, and six people were wounded in an attack on a maternity hospital in Zaporizhzhia.

Source: Al Jazeera