Zelenskyy says trilateral talks ended constructively and more are possible next week
The talks are the first known instance of Trump administration officials sitting down with both countries as part of Washington’s efforts to make progress toward ending Moscow’s nearly four-year occupation.
“All parties agreed to report to their capitals on all aspects of the negotiations and coordinate further steps with their leaders,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
The meetings covered a wide range of military and economic issues and included the possibility of a ceasefire before an agreement, the official said. An agreement has not yet been reached on the final framework for the supervision and operation of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russia and is the largest in Europe.
According to the official, the energy produced from the power plant will be shared “fairly”, but no decision has been made yet on the control of the power plant.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said there was “an understanding that America must monitor and control the process of ending the war and ensuring real security.”
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner attended, as well as Ukrainian officials, including chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov. According to Zelenskyy, Russia sent military intelligence and army representatives. Although Zelenskyy said on Thursday in Davos, Switzerland, that a possible peace deal was “almost ready”, some sensitive sticking points – especially those related to territorial issues – remain unresolved.
The U.S. official said Russian and Ukrainian officials would likely need to hold more meetings in Russia or Ukraine before there is a chance for Zelenskyy to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin or even have a joint session with President Donald Trump. There appears to be momentum to reach the stage of leaders’ meetings, according to the official, who spoke to reporters in Washington on condition of anonymity to describe private talks in Abu Dhabi.
Just hours before trilateral talks were to begin on Friday, Putin discussed reaching a deal in Ukraine with Witkoff and Kushner during lengthy talks that lasted throughout the night. The Kremlin insists that to reach a peace deal, Kiev must withdraw its troops from the eastern regions that Russia has illegally annexed but has not fully captured.
The second day of talks came as Russian drone strikes killed one person and injured four others in the capital Kiev, according to Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. 27 people were injured in drone strikes in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv region head Oleh Syniehubov said on Saturday.
“Putin cynically ordered a brutal and massive missile strike against Ukraine while delegations were meeting in Abu Dhabi to advance the American-led peace process,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote to X. “His missiles hit not only our people, but also the negotiating table.”
