Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said a second round of Abu Dhabi-hosted peace talks between his country, Russia and the US will take place next week.
Mr Zelenskyy said he hoped the trilateral talks – which come after a summit between the countries in the UAE capital on January 23 and 24 – would prove to be a significant step towards ending the four-year Ukraine-Russia war.
The discussions scheduled for February 4 and 5 are still to confirmed by the UAE, Russia or the US but had been expected to take place after progress made in the initial gathering.
President Sheikh Mohamed had emphasised the UAE's support of a diplomatic resolution to the conflict on an official visit to Russia on Thursday, when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Our negotiating team has just delivered a report. The dates for the next trilateral meetings have been set – February 4 and 5 in Abu Dhabi,” Mr Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we are interested in ensuring that the outcome brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war. Thank you to everyone who is helping.”
US officials said the first trilateral talks in the UAE had resulted in “substantial progress” between Russia and Ukraine.
“We've had a historic couple of days in Abu Dhabi,” said one.
The talks covered aspects of a framework intended to move the sides towards a ceasefire.
UAE backs push for peace
President Sheikh Mohamed stressed the importance of ending the war, which started in February 2022, during his visit to Russia.
Sheikh Mohamed said he was proud to work with Mr Putin on “the humanitarian issue” of UAE-mediated prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, in remarks made after he was welcomed to the Kremlin.
“I would like to once again reaffirm that the UAE fully supports any efforts aimed at achieving political and diplomatic solutions to conflicts that would help all parties to establish peace, international harmony and stability,” Sheikh Mohamed said.
Mr Putin praised the UAE for helping the release of prisoners and extended his gratitude to Sheikh Mohamed for his work to organise the trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US in Abu Dhabi.
