Overview
- The UAE foreign minister confirmed the Abu Dhabi talks began Friday and are scheduled to run for two days.
- Delegations include Russia led by GRU chief Igor Kostiukov with Kirill Dmitriev, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov, Kyrylo Budanov, Andrii Hnatov and David Arakhamia.
- The Kremlin reiterated that a lasting deal requires Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the Donbas, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling it a key condition.
- The trilateral session follows late-night talks in Moscow between Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoys and a Davos meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump.
- A separate U.S.–Russia economic track is planned to discuss frozen Russian assets and postwar funding, and officials have not confirmed any direct Russia–Ukraine meeting within the trilateral format.