Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi enter second day
The parties still have unresolved issues, particularly on territorial and security matters.
In Abu Dhabi, the second day of talks on Ukraine has started. The parties will continue discussing conditions to end the conflict. Here is everything known so far.
The start of the new day of consultations was reported by a TASS source. The talks are being held behind closed doors. Their main goal is to find paths to a peace settlement, with key disagreements remaining the same — the territorial issue and future security guarantees.
Who is at the negotiating table
The delegations have largely remained the same compared to the first round, held on 23–24 January:
The Russian delegation is led by the head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Admiral Igor Kostyukov.
The Ukrainian side is represented by a delegation headed by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Rustem Umerov.
The US is represented at the talks by Presidential Special Envoy Steven Witkoff and the son-in-law of US leader Donald Trump, Jared Kushner.
How the first day of talks went
The work of the first day, on 4 February, began with a trilateral meeting. After that, the parties continued discussions in separate groups on various tracks. The discussions lasted almost four hours.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, called the discussions substantive, noting that the focus was on specific steps.
The Ukrainian side expects to discuss military and military-political aspects of a possible end to the conflict. In expert circles, as Politico writes, there is «cautious optimism» about the prospects of this round of talks.
A US representative also characterized the talks as productive. As US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, the number of disputed issues has generally decreased. But no solutions have been found yet for the most difficult ones — the territorial issue and security guarantees.
There are many other important topics on the agenda for discussion, said Yuri Ushakov, assistant to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the Kremlin does not plan to inform about the results of the new round of talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, said presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
«These will be trilateral talks. This will be a working group on security issues,» Peskov clarified.
What could hinder the discussion
Diplomatic work is accompanied by a complex external agenda. On the eve of the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of violating the «energy truce» after new strikes on infrastructure. However, US President Donald Trump did not support this criticism, stating that the moratorium lasted the agreed week and was observed.
Dmitry Peskov stated that Russian forces will continue combat operations until the Ukrainian authorities make decisions capable of ending the conflict.
The first round of talks of the trilateral working group with the participation of representatives from Russia, Ukraine, and the US took place on 23 and 24 January. The meetings discussed the territorial issue and security guarantees for Ukraine. After the first trilateral meetings, a statement said that Kyiv would «under no circumstances» abandon its claims to the lands. Despite all the differences, US President Donald Trump and other American administration officials believe that the countries are «very close» to resolving the conflict.
