Ukraine–Russia meeting may be postponed, Zelenskyy says
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: Office of the President of Ukraine)
The meeting between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi, which was planned for February 1, may be postponed due to the situation surrounding Iran, as the United States may strike the ayatollah regime, and this could affect the date of the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a press briefing on January 30.
Zelenskyy noted that the new composition of the Russian delegation that would be presented in Abu Dhabi is significantly higher in level than before. Therefore, Ukraine views such meetings as more serious opportunities to discuss key issues.
However, the next meeting, which was supposed to take place on February 1, this Sunday, may be postponed. Therefore, when it will actually take place is currently unknown.
"We agreed that the meeting would be held in Abu Dhabi. And it is very important for us that everyone we agreed with is present at the meeting, because everyone is expecting feedback. But the date or location may be changed. Because, in our view, something is happening in the situation between America and Iran. And these things will probably affect the date," the president explained.
Zelenskyy also explained that despite all the discussions, the real outcome now depends on Russian President Vladimir Putin, since everything in Russia works that way.
"They (the Russians, – ed.) discussed certain issues with our delegation and with the American delegation. On what they could respond to, they responded, and on what they could not respond to, they heard the arguments. It is important that the meeting was not about lectures on history. This is a very important point," he noted.
Zelenskyy emphasized that instead of "fantastic historical references," there has been a shift toward real steps and discussions to end the war.
"Therefore, we are now waiting for feedback from the Russian side and from the American side. And, in our view, Russia and America have already had the relevant contacts," the president concluded.
Last weekend, the first trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States took place in the UAE. They received a positive assessment from the American side. Ukraine also described the first trilateral talks in the Emirates as substantive.
In view of this, the next meeting was scheduled for February 1. At the same time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would allegedly not take part in the new round of talks. That is, only the delegations of Ukraine and Russia would meet.
