Russia has reiterated its demand for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donbas region as the United States, Ukraine, and Russia held their first trilateral talks since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The talks took place in Abu Dhabi on Friday, marking the highest-level known summit between the three sides since the start of the war.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed the meeting at the “negotiator level,” stating that the format was happening for the first time in a long time. Russia’s delegation was led by GRU military intelligence chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov, indicating a focus on military rather than political negotiations.
The talks follow a seventh meeting between US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Witkoff was accompanied by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Josh Gruenbaum, a senior adviser on Trump’s international peace board for Gaza. The Kremlin’s diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ushakov, described the Moscow talks as “useful in every respect.”
As the Abu Dhabi talks began, the Kremlin repeated its demand for Kyiv to withdraw forces from the Donbas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has indicated that any peace plan preserving the “current Nazi regime” in Ukraine is unacceptable, suggesting plans for regime change. A German government spokesperson questioned whether Russia would move away from its maximalist demands, warning that a peace agreement giving Russia breathing space could allow future attacks.
Zelenskyy said peace proposals were “nearly ready,” but the future status of occupied land in eastern Ukraine remains unresolved. The Trump administration has been pushing for a settlement, with Trump stating that both Putin and Zelenskyy would be “stupid” if they failed to reach a deal. The full details of the UAE talks have not been released, and it is unclear whether Russian and Ukrainian officials met face to face.
