Trump weighs chances of Ukraine-Russia peace deal

"I think they stand a chance. We've been trying. I've ended eight wars. All of them, I thought, were going to be maybe tougher than this one. But Zelenskyy and Putin hate each other, and it makes it very difficult. But I think we're getting very close to getting a settlement," Trump said.

The President stressed that hundreds of thousands of people, mostly soldiers, have already been killed in the war in Ukraine. According to him, Ukraine and Russia lost 29,000 troops last month alone.

"I think that we have a good chance of getting it settled," Trump said.

Talks in Abu Dhabi

A new round of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine is scheduled for February 1 in Abu Dhabi. Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will not take part in the talks, which will be held directly between Ukraine and Russia.

On Thursday, January 29, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said the composition of Russia’s delegation suggests Russia lacks serious intentions to achieve peace.

According to media reports, the administration of US President Donald Trump has told Ukraine that security guarantees would depend on Kyiv’s flexibility on territorial issues.

Earlier on January 30, it became known that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, will travel to Miami on Saturday, where he will hold a series of meetings with members of the Trump administration.

The first trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States took place in Abu Dhabi on January 23–24 and were assessed positively by both Washington and Kyiv.

A source told RBC-Ukraine that the January 23–24 meeting was exploratory in nature, with the sides primarily outlining their positions.