A source in Washington gives the first impression after the new round of trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi
The US delegation (Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and American businessman Jared Kushner) at the trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi on February 4, 2026. PHOTO: The UAE Ministry Of Foreign Affa / Zuma Press / Profimedia
The United States described as “productive” the trilateral negotiations with Ukraine and Russia, which took place in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday with the aim of advancing towards a potential peace agreement, and confirmed that these talks will continue on Thursday, writes the Spanish news agency EFE.
“Today's talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia were productive and will continue tomorrow morning,” said a source in the administration of US President Donald Trump, according to Agerpres.
Ukrainian chief negotiator Rustem Umerov described Wednesday's meeting as “substantial and productive” in a message posted on his Telegram channel. “The activity was substantial and productive, focused on concrete steps and practical decisions,” Umerov summarized, without giving concrete details about the negotiations.
The US mediation delegation was led by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and the Russian delegation by Admiral Igor Kostiukov, the head of Russia's GRU military intelligence service.
The composition of the delegations was generally similar to that of the first round of negotiations in this tripartite format, also held in Abu Dhabi last month.
New peace talks on war in Ukraine in Abu Dhabi / Kremlin threat: Russia will continue to fight until Kiev makes “decisions”
Trump claimed on Monday that “good news” would come soon about the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war: “We're doing very well with Ukraine and Russia. This is the first time I've said that. I think we're going to have good news,” he told reporters at the White House.
After the first round of talks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which took place on January 23 and 24, the two warring countries each noted a positive change in the tone and content of talks aimed at ultimately leading to a peace agreement.
But both sides have warned that there are still obstacles, primarily the territorial issue, especially control of Ukraine's Donbas region, which Russia wants to take over in its entirety. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has so far refused to cede to Russia the portion of Donbas that remains under the control of the Ukrainian army, that is, about 20% of Donetsk province and an insignificant percentage of Luhansk province, the latter of which is almost completely under Russian control.
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