Kremlin announces new round of Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi
Dmitry Peskov (photo: Getty Images)
A new round of negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations is expected to take place as early as next week in Abu Dhabi, Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said, Kommersant reports.
"The continuation of the negotiations in Abu Dhabi is planned for next week, but there is no exact date yet,'' Peskov said.
At the same time, he noted that one should not expect high effectiveness from such negotiations.
''It would be a mistake to count on any high effectiveness from the first contacts. The very fact that these contacts have begun constructively can be assessed positively. But very serious work lies ahead,'' Peskov added.
According to him, ''friendliness is hardly possible'' at these negotiations. He also noted that the Kremlin will not publicly discuss specific items on the agenda of the negotiation process regarding Ukraine.
Talks in Abu Dhabi
The first round of trilateral talks involving the United States, Ukraine, and Russia took place in Abu Dhabi last week to develop mechanisms for a peaceful settlement. The Ukrainian side described the dialogue as productive, but the parties failed to reach a compromise on the territorial issue.
According to a source cited by RBC-Ukraine, the first meeting was introductory in nature. On Saturday, the talks continued with expanded delegations, after which the parties decided to work in two separate groups — political and military.
According to the source, significant progress was achieved in discussions on military issues, while no agreements on territorial matters have been reached so far.
The US president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, also spoke positively about the course of the talks in Abu Dhabi and confirmed the readiness of the parties to continue consultations. The next stage of the trilateral negotiations is preliminarily scheduled for February 1.
