MOSCOW: The Kremlin said Monday that US-brokered trilateral talks in the UAE between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators had been held in a “constructive spirit,” but there was still “significant work ahead”.
“It would be a mistake to expect any significant results from the initial contacts… But the very fact that these contacts have begun in a constructive spirit can be viewed positively. However, there is significant work ahead,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
The two-day meeting in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday was the first time negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv faced each other to talk about a plan being pushed by US President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year war.
“I wouldn’t say there was any friendliness there, it’s hardly possible at this stage,” Peskov said.
“But if you’re trying to achieve something through negotiations, you need to speak constructively,” he added.
The next round of trilateral talks is expected to take place on February 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Monday.
“It would be good if this meeting could be brought forward,” he added.
Zelensky said he expected “real results” from the next round of talks.
Ukraine and Russia ended a second day of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi without an agreement. Both sides said they were open to further dialogue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X on Saturday that bilateral discussions focused on the “parameters for ending the war, as well as the security conditions required to achieve this”, and that further talks could take place as early as next week.
The talks were attended by Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov, and Russian military intelligence and army representatives, according to Zelenskyy.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were also present.
A UAE government statement said talks were “constructive and positive”, tackling “outstanding elements” of Washington’s peace framework, with “direct engagement” between Ukraine and Russia.
The initial US draft drew heavy criticism in Kyiv and Western Europe for hewing too closely to Moscow’s demands, while Russia rejected revised versions over proposals for stationing European peacekeepers in Ukraine.
Before the discussions, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia had not dropped its insistence on Ukraine withdrawing from its eastern area of Donbas, the industrial heartland consisting of the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
