First trilateral meeting in six months: participants and details of UAE talks
The negotiations will be divided into several sessions, with the first focusing on security issues.
The first session of a trilateral working group on settling the Ukrainian crisis will take place in Abu Dhabi on 23–24 January. Here is who will participate in the talks and what is known about the upcoming meeting.
Who will represent Russia
Russia«s negotiating group on security issues has already been formed. Delegation representatives will fly to the UAE in the coming hours.
According to Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, the group will be headed by Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. The Russian President«s Special Representative Kirill Dmitriev will also be present at the trilateral meeting.
Ushakov noted that before departing for Abu Dhabi, Kremlin representatives received specific instructions from Russian President Vladimir Putin, taking into account all details of the conversation held today in Moscow with the American side.
Who will represent Ukraine
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky announced the upcoming negotiations the day before, speaking to journalists in Davos after a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. At that time, he also revealed the composition of the Ukrainian delegation. Ukraine will be represented in the UAE by:
Rustem Umerov — Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine;
Kyrylo Budanov (listed as a terrorist and extremist in Russia) — Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine;
Serhiy Kyslytsia — First Deputy Head of the Office of the President;
David Arakhamia — Head of the parliamentary faction «Servant of the People»;
Andriy Hnatov — Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine is ready for compromises but expects the same from Russia. The Ukrainian leader noted that a trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi is better than no meeting at all.
Who will represent the United States
The United States will act as a mediator. The interests of the American side will be represented by:
Steve Witkoff — Special Envoy of Donald Trump;
Jared Kushner — entrepreneur and son-in-law of the U.S. President;
Josh Grunbaum — Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) of the U.S. General Services Administration.
What is known about the upcoming negotiations
The talks are scheduled for 23–24 January in Abu Dhabi. The first session on security issues is set for this Friday.
The American and Ukrainian delegations want to propose a partial ceasefire to Russia, the Financial Times reports. The proposal is for Russia to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, and for Ukraine, in turn, to stop attacking Russian oil refineries and tankers of the so-called shadow fleet.
It is noted that Witkoff will also hold separate economic talks with the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Dmitriev. They will discuss the «Peace Council» and Russia«s readiness to allocate $1 billion to the organization»s budget from Russian assets frozen by the previous U.S. administration.
According to Russian Presidential Aide Ushakov, the remaining funds blocked in the United States could be directed to restore territories affected by hostilities after a peace treaty is signed between Russia and Ukraine. He stated this at a press conference following the meeting between Putin and representatives of the American delegation. Dmitriev noted that the past negotiations were important.
U.S. Special Representative Steven Witkoff, involved in mediation efforts, stated in Davos that essentially only one issue remains to be resolved for an agreement to be reached.
