What was discussed at the negotiations between the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi

The next round of negotiations could take place as early as this week.

On January 23 and 24, two rounds of negotiations between the delegations of Russia, Ukraine and the United States took place in Abu Dhabi. According to TASS, the first round took place in a “maximum closed mode”; the presence of the press was not envisaged.

The second round also took place by agreement of all parties in a closed format and lasted more than three hours. According to TASS sources, “one cannot say that the meeting passed without results, there are some,” but the details were not disclosed.

The Russian delegation was headed by the Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, the Ukrainian delegation was led by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, and the American delegation was led by US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

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Zelensky announced a discussion of the parameters for ending the war

After the first round of meetings, the President of Ukraine announced that the negotiations were discussing the parameters for ending the war. According to Vladimir Zelensky, “now they should have at least part of the answers from Russia, and the main thing is that Russia is ready to end this war, which it itself started.” At the same time, Zelensky stressed that it is too early to draw final conclusions on the content of the negotiations.

Following the second round, the President of Ukraine called the negotiations “constructive.” “As a result of the meetings these days, all parties agreed to report in their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and agree on further steps with the leaders. The military has determined a list of issues for a possible next meeting,” Zelensky wrote in his telegram channel. He also admitted that the next round could take place in the coming days.

An Axios source said that the next round of trilateral negotiations between delegations could take place in Abu Dhabi on February 1. Other Western and Ukrainian media and the Russian TASS agency also noted that the participants in the negotiations held on January 23-24 agreed on a new round.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the continuation of negotiations is planned “next week,” but did not name the exact date.

The Kremlin’s position, the “Anchorage formula” and future plans

Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov previously stated that “without resolving the territorial issue according to the formula agreed upon in Anchorage, one should not count on achieving a long-term settlement.” Otherwise, Russia will continue the war, Ushakov noted.

At the same time, Russian sources told The Times that Moscow representatives at the negotiations in Abu Dhabi agreed with the American position on territorial issues.
“We were hoping to get some kind of commitment on territorial concessions first. But in the end, we simply had to agree with the Americans,” the publication’s interlocutor said.

According to a source from RBC-Ukraine, the Russian side during the negotiations insisted on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the part of Donbass not controlled by Russia, but Ukraine did not agree to this. TASS, citing a source, reported that the territorial issue had become the most difficult, and Reuters noted the absence of signs of compromise.

But the parties are said to have made serious progress in discussing possible actions after reaching a ceasefire agreement. They discussed, in particular, the possible disengagement of troops, mechanisms for monitoring the cessation of hostilities, and the creation of a center for control and coordination of the silence regime.

US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said that Washington “has some very, very good ideas” on territories that may be acceptable to Russian President Vladimir Putin. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, in turn, emphasized that Ukrainian troops are ready to move away from the front line to the same distance as the Russian ones.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would be a mistake to expect high results from these meetings. “It would be a mistake to count on high results from trilateral meetings to resolve the conflict in Ukraine; there is still a lot of work to be done,” he said.

Peskov also noted that friendliness is “hardly possible” at such negotiations, but he assessed the very fact of the start of contacts positively. “This is a very complex substance, complex issues on the agenda. But the very fact that these contacts began in a constructive manner can be assessed positively. But there is very serious work ahead,” Peskov noted.

Commenting on Kyiv’s statements about its refusal to cede territory, Peskov said: “Let’s not discuss individual provisions for now. Our position is very well known. The “Anchorage Formula” was agreed upon, and an appropriate understanding was reached with American negotiators and with US President Donald Trump. Negotiations are now taking place at the expert level. Negotiations in this direct format are at an early stage.”

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What else were they talking about in Abu Dhabi?

According to Politico, among other things, the fate of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant , which is under the control of the Russian army, was discussed. According to the publication’s source, Moscow is advocating joint distribution of electricity generated for the station for the needs of Russia and Ukraine. There are no agreements yet.

As Reuters and Axios write, in addition to trilateral negotiations, the delegations of Russia and Ukraine also held a bilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi. At the end of the second day of negotiations, the three teams gathered together for a joint lunch. “There was a moment when everyone almost looked like friends,” one American source told Axios. Another American official noted: “Everything went as well as we could have expected.”

According to the publication’s interlocutors, “everything was discussed. No one on either side was embarrassed by the discussions. We did not leave a single issue out of discussion and did not have to push anyone.”

Sources from Axios claim that the possibility of a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine was also discussed, but there is no official confirmation of this yet. The Kremlin did not publicly sum up the results of the negotiations.

Previously, “Layout” talked about the negotiations between the Presidents of the United States and Ukraine, Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky in Davos. After the meeting, it became clear that the parties had not yet agreed on security guarantees for Kiev.

Photo: Trilateral negotiations between the delegations of Ukraine, the USA and Russia, Abu Dhabi, January 14, 2026. Uae Government/Handout via REUTERS

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