Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia are set to meet in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 4-5 for a new round of talks as part of ongoing efforts to negotiate a peace deal, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 1.
Zelensky's statement came amid uncertainty over whether the talks initially scheduled for Feb. 1 would go ahead and whether they would be held bilaterally between Moscow and Kyiv or in a trilateral format with Washington.
"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," Ukraine's president said.
The day before, on Jan. 31, Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with U.S. officials, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, in Miami.
The previous two-day talks between Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow concluded in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 24.
The talks are expected to focucs on a potential energy ceasefire and control over Ukraine's Donbas region. Russia has long demanded that Ukraine cede the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, including unoccupied territory, as a precondition of any peace agreement.
As Russian attacks pushed Ukraine's energy system into a crisis, U.S. President Trump on Jan. 29 announced that he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop bombarding Ukrainian cities for a week. Moscow said the next day that the pause applies only to Kyiv and would last until Feb. 1.
In recent days, Russia has continued its attacks on the civilian infrastructure across other Ukrainian cities, resulting in casualties.
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