Ukraine, Russia, U.S. Confirm More Trilateral Peace Talks ‘Next Week’
All three sides at the weekend’s trilateral peace talks in the United Arab Emirates individually confirmed they had broken the agreement to welcome more, and welcomed constructive talks even though key areas of friction clearly remain.
Further trilateral negotiations on the future of the war in Ukraine should take place, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Speaking from Moscow on Monday morning, Peskov told national press that they were “planned for next week. But I can’t give you the exact date at the moment.” Earlier, US negotiator Steve Witkoff said: “Plans have been made to continue conversations next week in Abu Dhabi.”
The remarks follow those of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who seemed less firm on the timetable, but said over the weekend that the next round of negotiations could take place “as early as next week,” provided the U.S. and Russian governments agree. Talks could begin this coming weekend.
The trilateral talks, which lasted two days Friday and Saturday last week, suggest progress toward peace has entered a new phase, with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators sitting in the same room as U.S. intermediaries in Abu Dhabi. According to sources cited by Axios, the discussions ended with a joint lunch during which Russian and Ukrainian delegates ate together, and “good” progress was made.
Witkoff called the discussions “constructive” and Zelensky said the discussions focused on “possible parameters for ending the war,” welcoming the mutual understanding that there should be “US oversight and control over the process of ending the war and maintaining real security.” Zelensky then said a deal on US security guarantees was now “100% ready” and just waiting to be signed.
Nonetheless, it is clear that fundamental points of difference over the war remain unresolved. Zelensky said that while there were fewer “problematic issues” now than before, he reiterated Ukraine’s long-standing position that its territory remains sacrosanct in the face of Russia’s demand that kyiv “give up the entire east” of the country.
The Ukrainian president said on not ceding territory to Moscow for peace: “I won’t repeat it, everyone knows our position. We are fighting for our country, for what is ours. We are not fighting on another country’s territory, so what questions might we ask ourselves? Yes, these are two fundamentally different positions – that of Ukraine and that of Russia. The Americans are trying to find a compromise.”
Russia has tried to formulate this position that Ukrainian territory is Ukrainian, even though it has in some cases been occupied by Moscow for more than a decade, with Zelensky trying to delay peace. Moscow negotiator Kirill Dmitriev said: “Zelensky’s conference with the Europeans in Davos did not go well. His delay in accepting territorial concessions is delaying peace.”
Ukraine also said Russia was undermining the peace process by continuing its massive airstrikes against civilian areas during the talks. Power cuts continue across Ukraine, amid freezing conditions following Russian strikes on the energy grid in recent weeks.
