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Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States met connected Friday (January 23, 2026) successful Abu Dhabi for the archetypal nonstop negotiations connected a program being pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump to extremity the astir four-year-long war.
The U.S. initially drafted a program to extremity the struggle that was heavy criticised successful Kyiv and occidental Europe for being excessively adjacent to Russia's line, portion aboriginal proposals were criticised by Moscow for floating the thought of European peacekeepers.
Ahead of Friday's (January 23) talks, which are acceptable to proceed connected Saturday (January 24), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said territory remained the cardinal contented — with Moscow having said it is not dropping its request that Kyiv propulsion retired of its eastbound Donbas region.
After the archetypal time of talks, Ukraine's main negotiator Rustem Umerov posted connected societal media that the gathering had focused "on the parameters for ending Russia's warfare and the further logic of the dialog process", adding that meetings were scheduled for Saturday (January 24).
The UAE Foreign Ministry said successful an earlier connection the talks were scheduled to past 2 days and were "part of ongoing efforts to beforehand dialog and place governmental solutions to the crisis".
Mr. Trump met Mr. Zelenskyy astatine the World Economic Forum successful Davos connected Thursday (January 22) and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff aboriginal held talks with Vladimir Putin successful the Kremlin.
Donbas dispute
The Emirates gathering took spot arsenic thousands of radical successful Kyiv were without heating successful sub-zero temperatures owed to Russian strikes.
The European Union, which has sent hundreds of generators, accused Moscow of "deliberately depriving civilians of heat".
Kyiv said Russian strikes had killed 3 radical connected Friday successful the Kharkiv portion and 4 radical — including a begetter and his five-year-old lad — overnight successful the east.
While diplomacy to extremity Europe's worst struggle since World War II has gained pace, Moscow and Kyiv look deadlocked implicit the contented of territory.
Hours aft Mr. Putin met Mr. Witkoff — and Mr. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner — successful Moscow, the Kremlin said its maximalist request that Kyiv retreat from the eastbound Donbas portion inactive stood.
"Russia's presumption is good known connected the information that Ukraine, Ukrainian equipped forces, person to permission the territory of the Donbas," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
"This is simply a precise important condition," helium added.
Kyiv, which inactive controls astir 20% of the eastbound region, has rejected specified terms.
‘God willing’
Both sides accidental the destiny of territory successful Ukraine's eastbound is 1 of the main outstanding issues successful the hunt for a colony to a warfare that has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and decimated eastbound Ukraine.
"The Donbas is simply a cardinal issue," Mr. Zelenskyy — who said helium and Mr. Trump had agreed connected post-war information guarantees successful Davos — told reporters connected Friday (January 23), up of the talks.
Later successful a station online, helium added: "It is indispensable that not lone Ukraine has the tendency to extremity the warfare and execute afloat security, but that a akin tendency someway emerges successful Russia arsenic well."
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are past known to person met face-to-face successful Istanbul past summer, successful talks that ended lone successful deals to speech captured soldiers.
The Abu Dhabi gathering is the archetypal clip they person faced each different to speech astir the Trump administration's plan.
Mr. Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to get afloat power of eastbound Ukraine by unit if talks fail.
After the Russia-U.S. talks successful the Kremlin, Putin adjutant Yuri Ushakov insisted Moscow was "genuinely funny successful resolving" the warfare diplomatically.
But helium added: "Until that happens, Russia volition proceed to execute its objectives... connected the battlefield."
Mr. Trump has successful the past pressured Ukraine to hold to presumption that Kyiv sees arsenic capitulation.
Mr. Trump repeated connected Wednesday (January 21) his content that Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy were adjacent to a deal.
"I judge they're astatine a constituent present wherever they tin travel unneurotic and get a woody done. And if they don't, they're anserine — that goes for some of them," helium said.
