Russia, Ukraine and US hold trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi
ReutersRussian, Ukrainian and US negotiators have held talks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - the first meeting attended by all three countries since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago, officials say.
US officials told NBC News the talks were "productive" and would continue on Saturday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was too early to draw conclusions from them.
They follow a long meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US envoys in Moscow, which Russia described as "useful".
However, the key sticking point remains territorial issues, including Russia's demand that Ukraine give up the 25% of the Donetsk region, which Kyiv still controls.
In a statement posted on X on Friday evening, Zelensky said that "a conversation has already taken place" with the American and Russian delegations, and that his representatives were reporting to him every hour.
"The main thing is that Russia must be ready to end this war, which it itself started. Ukraine's positions are clear. I have defined the framework for dialogue for our delegation," he said.
"As for the substance of today's discussions, it is still too early to draw conclusions. We will see how the conversation develops tomorrow and what results it produces."
Zelensky said last month that a 20-point US plan to end the war was 90% ready with Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, one of the outstanding issues.
He has offered to withdraw troops by up to 40km (25 miles) from the region in order to create an economic zone in Donbas, if Russia does the same.
The US proposal for Ukraine's industrial heartland in Donbas is for a demilitarised and free economic zone in exchange for security guarantees for Kyiv.
The head of Kyiv's national security and defence council, Rustem Umerov, is leading the Ukrainian delegation in Abu Dhabi, along with Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Zelensky's office, and negotiator David Arakhamia. They are being joined on Saturday by the chief of the general staff, Andrii Hnatov.
On the Russian side, the delegation in Abu Dhabi is being led by General Igor Kostyukov, director of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, while investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev will meet US envoy Steve Witkoff separately to discuss economic issues.
The three US representatives include Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
They had previously met Putin and two other Russian aides on Thursday night.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said those talks were "substantive, constructive and very frank", but reiterated that any agreement for durable peace would not be possible without resolving territorial issues.
"Until this is achieved, Russia will continue to consistently pursue the objectives of the special military operation," he said.
Witkoff last year said that Russia had agreed to allow the US and Europe to give Ukraine "robust" security guarantees as part of a potential peace deal.
Ukrainian officials also attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Zelensky met Trump for what he described as "very positive" talks. He told reporters that they had reached an agreement on future US security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a deal.
Zelensky gave no details but said it would need to go before the US Congress and Ukrainian parliament before signing.
Overnight Thursday to Friday, both Ukraine and Russia reported drone attacks.
In messages posted on Telegram, Penza Oblast governor Oleg Melnichenko said a drone attack caused a fire at an oil depot in Penza, an area south-east of Moscow.
In Ukraine, the general staff of the armed forces reported an air attack that saw drones hitting 12 locations overnight.
Recent Russian strikes on key infrastructure targets have been leaving many people in Ukraine to face freezing temperatures without heating or power.