'Should Be Ready To End War...': Russia, Ukraine And US Hold First-Ever Trilateral Talks In UAE On Thorny Territorial Issue

New Delhi: Ukraine’s top security official Rustem Umerov confirmed that Ukraine, the United States, and Russia convened for an unprecedented first-ever trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi today, signalling that efforts aimed at ending the war in Ukraine are intensifying.

Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, in a post on X confirmed the meet stating, "The meeting focused on the parameters for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the negotiation process aimed at advancing toward a dignified and lasting peace. Additional meetings are scheduled for tomorrow. Tomorrow, the Head of the General Staff, General Andrii Hnatov, and the Deputy Head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Vadym Skibitskyi, will join the Ukrainian delegation".

In Abu Dhabi, the Ukrainian delegation was composed of Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, parliamentary majority leader David Arakhamia, and Kyrylo Budanov, the head of President Zelenskyy’s office, along with his deputy, Sergiy Kyslytsya.

According to the Kremlin, Russia’s delegation featured high-ranking intelligence and defense officials, headed by Igor Kostyukov, the chief of the Russian military’s Main Directorate of the General Staff.

What was the focus?

The discussion was aimed to restart long-stalled efforts to end Moscow’s nearly four-year-old invasion of its neighbours.

Kyiv is under mounting U.S. pressure to reach a peace deal in the war triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Moscow demanding Kyiv cede its entire eastern industrial area of Donbas before it stops fighting.

President Zelenskyy confirmed that the future of the Donbas region, specifically the status of currently occupied territories, remains the central friction point in the ongoing negotiations. These high-stakes, three-way talks in Abu Dhabi are scheduled to conclude this Saturday.

The most important thing is that "Russia should be ready to end this war, which it started, " Zelenskyy said in a statement on the Telegram app, adding he was in regular contact with the Ukrainian negotiators, but it was too early to draw conclusions from Friday's talks.

These talks follow a high-profile meeting between Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

On Friday, Zelenskyy confirmed that a bilateral security agreement is finalised; the only remaining step is for Trump to finalize the logistics for the official signing. Ukraine views these firm security commitments as vital protection against future Russian aggression, especially since Moscow has yet to demonstrate a genuine commitment to ending the conflict.

“These aspects: Buffer zones, various control mechanisms, are discussed at the meeting along with other important topics,” as per Reuters.

Hour-by-hour updates

President Zelenskyy stated that he is receiving constant, hour-by-hour updates from his delegation in the United Arab Emirates. He emphasized that while Ukraine's goals and requirements remain "clear," it is still premature to draw any conclusions regarding the progress or direction of the negotiations.

“It is necessary that not only Ukraine has the desire to end the war and achieve full security, but that a similar desire somehow emerges in Russia as well, he added.

Negotiations have been narrowed down

On Thursday, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff indicated that negotiations have been narrowed down to a single unresolved issue. Though he did not specify the exact detail, he noted that they have discussed several variations of this remaining hurdle, leading him to believe a solution is within reach.

Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy system

The tripartite talks, brokered by the U.S., are unfolding against a backdrop of intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy system that have cut power and heating to major cities such as Kyiv, as temperatures dip well below freezing. 

The head of Ukraine's top private power producer, Maxim Timchenko, told the situation was nearing a "humanitarian catastrophe" and that Ukraine needs a ceasefire that halts attacks on energy infrastructure.

On the ground, Ukraine is grappling with a severe energy crisis following Russia’s most intense strikes on its power grid since late 2022. Despite this pressure, a major deadlock persists in negotiations: Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukraine cede the remaining 20% of the Donetsk region (roughly 5,000 sq km) that his forces have failed to capture in four years of fighting.

Moscow is pushing the “Anchorage formula”, a framework they claim was established during a Trump-Putin summit in Alaska last August, which would grant Russia full control of the Donbas while freezing current front lines elsewhere. However, President Zelenskyy remains firm against territorial concessions, a stance backed by Ukrainian public opinion, while the international community continues to recognize the disputed regions as sovereign Ukrainian territory.

Russian assets frozen

Russia has also floated the idea of using the bulk of nearly $5 billion of Russian assets frozen in the United States to fund a recovery of Russian-occupied territory inside Ukraine. Ukraine, backed by European allies, demands that Russia pay it reparations. 

Asked about Russia's idea, Zelenskyy dismissed it as “nonsense.” 

Last year, Russian and Ukrainian delegations had their first face-to-face meeting since 2022 when they met in Istanbul. A top Ukrainian military intelligence officer also had talks with U.S. and Russian delegations in Abu Dhabi in November.

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