The road to peace in Ukraine. This is what the talks in Abu Dhabi brought
The meetings were held behind closed doors, with no official details disclosed to the press. The format included discussions in a variety of formats – both within narrow working groups and as part of broader discussions between delegations. Therefore, the negotiations were to address various issues – from security to political and economic matters.
On January 23, the first meeting of the trilateral working group on security with the participation of representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the United States was held in Abu Dhabi.
Putin's assistant Yuri Ushakov announced that members of the Russian negotiating group flew to the Emirates on January 22. On the night of January 23, Putin himself met with negotiators from the United States: Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and White House senior adviser Josh Gruenbaum.
The meeting lasted over three and a half hours and focused on obtaining information about the results of US contacts with Ukraine and Europe.
For example, Putin was told about the meeting between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos.
According to Ushakov, Putin personally gave diplomats specific instructions ahead of Abu Dhabi, “taking into account all the details of the conversation with the Americans.” Also during the talks in Moscow “it was found that without solving the territorial issue According to the formula agreed in Anchorage, we should not count on reaching a long-term agreement.” Moreover, Putin's advisor emphasized that Russia does not currently intend to stop hostilities.
— As Vladimir Putin emphasizes, we are sincerely interested in solving the Ukrainian crisis using political and diplomatic methods. However, until this happens, Russia will consistently strive to achieve the goals set for the special military operation on the battlefield where the Russian armed forces have the strategic initiative, Ushakov said.
“Better than no dialogue at all”
The key topic of the talks was the territorial issue, which the parties consider the most difficult. According to a TASS agency source, the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas is of crucial importance for Moscow.
There are no final decisions on all major issues — territorial, security guarantees for Ukraine and non-expansion of NATO, which Putin is seeking, as explained by a source with ties to the Kremlin. However, the interlocutor added that in almost all cases it happened progress.
Vladimir Putin meeting with the American delegation in the Kremlin, January 22, 2026.ALEXANDER KAZAKOV / AFP
Zelensky also said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he supports his team of negotiators meeting with Russian and American representatives on neutral territory. According to him, even negotiations at the technical level are “better than no dialogue at all.”
— If we start this three-way meeting on a technical level, I hope we can find some, I don't know… Russians must be ready to compromisebecause everyone must be ready, not only Ukraine. This is important for us, so we will see what the result will be, Zelensky said.
He also emphasized that the Donbas issue remains a key issue in the negotiations, so the parties will discuss how they see it.
The path to peace
High-ranking representatives of Ukraine's armed forces and military intelligence were to join the negotiations on Saturday. At the same time, on the night of January 24, the Russian army attacked Kiev and Kharkov.
The initiators of the tripartite meeting were: United Statesas written by the Financial Times. Sources familiar with the situation told reporters that Trump wants to negotiate a possible peace agreement. The Financial Times specified that Russia agreed to parallel negotiations with Ukraine, during which mediators will travel between the delegations. The newspaper's source confirmed that this pattern is similar to the one that followed negotiations in Abu Dhabi in November 2025, when Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met separately with US officials but did not communicate directly with each other.
Also, the Italian newspaper “Corriere della Sera”, citing sources, reported that four documents will be presented in Abu Dhabi that may become basis of the peace treaty. One of them proposes the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the territories of Donbas in exchange for security guarantees from the United States and European allies, as well as a Ukraine reconstruction program worth $800 billion. (PLN 2.8 trillion) under the leadership of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.
Meanwhile, US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said before the negotiations that work on the peace plan was already 90 percent complete. completed.
Negotiators
Representatives of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, headed by the head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Adm., went to Abu Dhabi from Russia. Igor Kostyukov. He previously took part in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in May 2025.
Politician Ilya Grashchenkov in an interview with Ostorozhno Media expressed the opinion that Kostyukov was sent for negotiations so that he could agree on security and buffer zone issues. In his opinion, it is the creation of the latter that helps to move towards the ceasefire process. “During the conflict, this buffer zone, which initially de facto existed, has now become the direct border of continuous clashes,” the expert pointed out.
Putin's special representative Kirill Dmitriev also flew to Abu Dhabi to take part in bilateral talks with the United States.
The Agency website noted that the Russian negotiating group included the first deputy head of the GRU intelligence service, Alexander Zorin. “Russian sources called him the best negotiatorand the West drew attention to his role in recruiting Syrians to the Wagner Group in Libya,” the publishing house wrote.
Head of the Cabinet of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov in Kiev, February 25, 2024 (stock photo)Sergei Supinsky / AFP
The Ukrainian delegation included: the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Lt. Gen. Andriy Hnatov, the first deputy head of the president's office Sergei Kislitsa, the head of the faction of the Servant of the People party David Arachamia and the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov.
According to Axios, the US group of negotiators included Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner. According to Axios, it was Driscoll who personally delivered the first version of Washington's 28-point peace plan to the president of Ukraine on November 19 in Kiev. The BBC's Ukrainian website notes that “the leakage of the terms of this plan to the media caused chaos on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The dialogue can continue
At noon on January 24, the talks, which lasted over three hours, ended. The parties have not issued any statements regarding their results. It has not been officially announced whether negotiations will continue tomorrow, but no new meetings are planned for today.
However, an Axios source among Ukrainian officials claims that negotiations may continue next week in Abu Dhabi. According to journalist Barak Ravid, the tripartite meeting took place “positive and constructive”.
The TASS source also allows for the possibility that another round of talks on ending the war may take place in the coming days.
Volodymyr Zelensky said that Moscow, Kiev and Washington “discussed many issues and it is important that the talks were constructive.” According to him, the main topic of the talks were the possible conditions for ending the war.
“As a result of the meetings, all parties agreed to inform their capitals about every aspect of the negotiations and agree with the leaders on further steps. The military agreed list of issues to be discussed during a possible next meeting. If the parties are ready to take further action – and Ukraine is ready – further meetings will likely be held next week,” he wrote.
After the initial meeting on Jan. 23, a White House source told NBC News that the talks were “productive.”
