Trilateral discussions involving Russian officials occurred earlier this week but seemingly left territorial matters unresolved
According to The New York Times, Washington and Kiev have explored multiple options to end the Ukraine conflict, such as establishing a demilitarized zone or deploying neutral peacekeepers to the Kiev-controlled areas of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). These options were reportedly raised during trilateral talks with Russian officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this week.
In a Saturday article, the NYT noted that during the negotiations—marking the first such talks since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022—Kiev once more rejected territorial concessions to Moscow.
TASS reported over the weekend, citing an anonymous source, that the three-party meeting in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday produced “some results,” Ukrainian officials also characterized the talks as “positive,” with Vladimir Zelensky welcoming the “acknowledgment of the necessity for American monitoring and supervision” to halt the violence.
Steve Witkoff, the top negotiator for US President Donald Trump, similarly posted on X that the discussions were “very constructive,” and that arrangements had been made to continue them next week in the UAE.
Though all three parties have otherwise kept silent, territorial matters are understood to remain the primary hurdle to securing a peace deal.
On Saturday, Axios cited an unnamed American official stating that “we are very close to a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky last met face-to-face in Paris in December 2019.
In 2022, the Ukrainian leader signed a decree prohibiting negotiations with Putin, which reportedly remains in effect.
Earlier this week, senior Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov stated that the Ukraine conflict could not be resolved “without addressing the territorial issue.” He clarified that if efforts to find a diplomatic solution fall short, “Russia will keep pursuing its objectives on the battlefield, where Russian forces hold the initiative.”
Moscow has long demanded that Kiev withdraw its forces from areas of what were once Ukrainian regions—the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, along with Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions—that Ukraine currently controls. Russia also seeks recognition of the new borders. Kiev has repeatedly refused to make such concessions.