Ukrainian, United States and Russian negotiators will hold talks in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, marking the first known meeting to be attended by all three countries since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The talks come after President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than three hours beginning late Thursday. Kremlin aide Ushakov described those talks as “exceptionally substantive, constructive, and, I would say, extremely frank and confidential.”
But he also warned that “without resolving the territorial issue… one should not count on achieving a long-term settlement,” and added that Russia would continue to pursue its objectives “on the battlefield, where the Russian Armed Forces hold the strategic initiative,” until an agreement is reached.
Russia’s delegation to Abu Dhabi will be led by Main Intelligence Directorate Chief Admiral Igor Olegovich Kostyukov. Ukraine’s will include the deputy head of the presidential office and Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov.
Hours before flying to Moscow Witkoff said negotiations were “down to one issue,” suggesting an agreement was perhaps within reach.
“I think we’ve got it down to one issue, and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it’s solvable,” he said, speaking at an event in Davos on Thursday.
A European official later confirmed to CNN that the remaining issue Witkoff referred to was territory.