Next round of Russia, Ukraine talks to begin in Abu Dhabi on February 1: US official

ABU DHABI: A next round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US to halt the war will continue in Abu Dhabi on February 1 a US official said on Saturday.

“We’ve agreed that the next round begins next Sunday in Abu Dhabi again,” the official told reporters, calling the decision to hold further talks a “good sign” and adding that “a lot of work” was done over two days of negotiations in the Emirati capital.

Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their first direct talks in months in Abu Dhabi even as Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles during the discussions. Kyiv accused Moscow of undermining the negotiations.

READ MORE: Ukrainian capital under Russian attack, air defences in operation

Another US official said the discussions marked a “big step” with the meetings serving as “confirmation of the fact that, number one, a lot of progress has been made to date”.

This week was the first time the warring sides have faced each other to talk about a plan being pushed by US President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year war.

Trump met Ukrainian President Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday and US envoy Steve Witkoff later held talks with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.

The US official said Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner accompanied Witkoff on the trip and spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for four hours in Moscow.

They “met for just about four hours, and again, (a) very, very productive discussion, speaking about the final issues that are open”, the first official told media.

According to Zelensky, “the central focus of the discussions was the possible parameters for ending the war”.

The war has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and devastated large swathes of Ukraine.

While diplomacy to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II has gained pace again, Moscow and Kyiv appear deadlocked over the issue of territory.