The second round of talks that brought together representatives of the United States, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), to discuss an end-of-war plan for Ukraine ended on the 24th local time. No concrete results emerged, but a third round could be held as early as next week.
According to AFP and Reuters, the UAE government said in a statement that "the discussions were conducted in a constructive and positive atmosphere," and explained that "delegations from Russia and Ukraine directly participated in discussions on key elements of the U.S.-proposed peace plan and confidence-building measures to support progress toward a comprehensive agreement."
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky also said on Telegram, "Much was discussed," adding, "What matters is that the dialogue was constructive." He went on, "Military representatives confirmed a list of issues to be discussed at the next meeting," and signaled that "once preparations are ready, the next meeting could potentially be held as early as next week."
AFP and Russia's TASS news agency also reported, citing sources, the possibility that the next talks will resume within days. However, there was no particular progress on the territorial issue, the core sticking point of the end-of-war plan. Russia is sticking to its position that Ukrainian forces must withdraw from the eastern Donbas, while Ukraine is refusing.
Senior military officials sat across the table at the talks, including Igor Kostyukov, Director General of Russia's Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU), and Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council. From the U.S. side, attendees included Steve Witkoff, special envoy for President Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, and European Command chief Alexis Grinkevich.