In the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, a new round of trilateral negotiations took place on February 4-5 between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States regarding ways to end the war. The central theme of the discussions was the establishment of a ceasefire.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Extensive Consultations and Initial Agreements
According to U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, the delegations engaged in detailed discussions over two days regarding unresolved issues, including mechanisms for implementing and monitoring the ceasefire regime. He reported this in his statement on social media.
“Over the course of two days, the delegations held extensive discussions on outstanding issues, including methods for implementing the ceasefire and monitoring the cessation of hostilities,” he wrote on social media platform X.
Witkoff emphasized that the negotiations were constructive and focused on finding ways to achieve sustainable peace. As a result of the round, the parties agreed to relay the outcomes to their capitals and expressed their intention to continue trilateral dialogue in the coming weeks.
The participants also reached an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war — the first such agreement in the last five months.
Territorial Issues and Next Steps
Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, who led the Ukrainian delegation, confirmed in his statement that Ukraine is grateful to U.S. President Donald Trump for his leadership in supporting efforts aimed at ending the war.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that after the first day of negotiations, the number of open questions between Ukraine and Russia decreased, although the most complex issues remain. A significant portion of the disagreements pertains to territorial issues: Russia demands the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from those areas of the Donetsk region that it has failed to occupy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that another meeting of the delegations from Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia is planned soon within the negotiation process, although he did not specify the exact date.
It is worth noting that the first trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia since the onset of the full-scale war took place in Abu Dhabi on January 23-24. The next round was scheduled for February 1 but was postponed to February 4-5.
On January 28, Secretary of State Rubio emphasized that the territorial issue remains unresolved, and the Kremlin’s position aims to achieve maximalist goals in the war while rejecting Western security guarantees for Ukraine.
President Zelensky, while in Vilnius on January 25, stressed that Kyiv’s position on territories remains unchanged, and all parties must be prepared for compromises. He also added that bilateral security guarantees from the U.S. are already 100% ready, and Kyiv is awaiting their signing. Earlier, in December, the head of state noted that any potential territorial resolutions should be decided by the people of Ukraine through elections or a referendum.
Analysts from international research centers point out that the Kremlin rejects Western guarantees for Ukraine and continues to insist on its own conditions for ending the conflict.