Suspense after the first day of US-Russia-Ukraine negotiations. The state media in Moscow writes about what was discussed behind closed doors
Negotiators representing Russia, Ukraine and the US met in Abu Dhabi on Friday for the first direct trilateral talks on a plan backed by US President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year war, with Ukraine's eastern Donbas region remaining the main point of contention, according to Reuters and AFP.
The meeting ended on Friday evening without any details or clear conclusions being announced, and the talks will resume on Saturday in the same format.
Despite the first trilateral meeting since the beginning of the conflict, the Russians did not stop the bombing and attacked the two largest cities of Ukraine, Kiev and Kharkiv, on the night of Friday to Saturday.
So far, all three camps have been cautious and have not made statements about what was discussed behind closed doors.
What Ukraine's chief negotiator says
The trilateral meeting aims to reach a “dignified and lasting peace”, said the negotiator leading the Kiev delegation, Rustem Umerov, in a message on X at the end of the meeting, writes CNN.
He emphasized that Ukraine appreciates the “mediation offered by the US”.
“The meeting focused on the parameters necessary to end the war in Russia,” said Umerov, who also said more Ukrainian officials would join the talks, which will continue Saturday.
Ahead of Friday's talks, which will continue on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said territory remained the key issue, with Moscow saying it was not backing down on its demand that Kiev withdraw from the Donbas region in the country's east.
Zelensky, cautious
Trilateral talks are expected to focus on two key issues: the future of the partially occupied Donbas region and a possible halt to attacks on energy infrastructure, proposals that the Ukrainian and American teams plan to present to Russian negotiators, according to The Kyv Independent.
A White House official told the Ukrainian publication that Friday's round of talks was “productive,” adding that talks are set to continue on Saturday.
In his evening speech, the Kiev leader said the negotiating team was briefing him hourly on the talks, but warned it was still “too early to draw conclusions”.
“We will see how the conversation develops tomorrow and what results it will produce,” Zelenskiy said.
At the same time, Zelenski warned that it is premature to draw conclusions about the content of the negotiations and that much will depend on the continuation of the talks and the results of the next round. “It is not enough that only Ukraine wants to end the war and achieve real security. It is necessary that a similar desire appears in Russia, at least in a certain form,” said the Ukrainian president.
What the Moscow press writes
According to an anonymous source cited by the Russian state agency TASS, on the first day of the trilateral negotiations held in Abu Dhabi, Russia, the US and Ukraine discussed the creation of buffer zones and control mechanisms over them, according to the independent Russian publication The Moscow Times.
“Yes, these aspects: buffer zones, various control mechanisms, of course, along with other important topics, are the topics of the meeting,” the source said.
The negotiations, scheduled to take place over the course of two days, take place in a “regime of maximum discretion”, notes TASS.
The quoted source wrote that the exact place was not made public, the press is not accredited, while at the big hotels in the city or in the area of the presidential palace, no strengthening of security measures was observed. TASS also reported that, officially, “it is not known” about the holding of consultations.
Russia is not giving up Donbas
In parallel, the Reuters agency reported, citing a Kremlin source, that the Russian delegation from Abu Dhabi is again insisting on the transfer to Moscow of the entire Donbas, the region that the Moscow army has not been able to completely conquer during the almost four years of war. Ukraine has repeatedly stated that such conditions are unacceptable.
Mihail Podoliak, Volodymyr Zelenskiy's adviser, said in December 2025 in an interview with Le Monde that Kiev is willing to accept the creation of a demilitarized buffer zone in Donbas, with the presence of observation missions, including a foreign military contingent.
According to the French publication, this position was included in an updated version of the peace plan, sent by Volodymyr Zelensky to US President Donald Trump.
