Russia, Ukraine Sit for Tense Talks on Thorny Territorial Issue
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in Abu Dhabi on Friday to tackle the vital issue of territory but the talks showed no sign of a compromise.
The meeting included Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump's special Ukraine envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Umerov said the talks involved parameters for ending the war and "further logic of the negotiation process."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the territorial dispute was a central issue for the talks but that it was too early to draw conclusions from Friday's meeting.
Kyiv is under mounting U.S. pressure to reach a peace deal in the war, which was triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Friday's talks unfolded amid intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy system that have cut power and heating to major cities, including Kyiv, as temperatures dip well below freezing.
Moscow is demanding that Ukraine cede its entire eastern industrial area of Donbas before it will stop fighting
The negotiations - which come a day after Zelenskiy met with Trump in Davos - are expected to continue on Saturday morning, according to Zelenskiy's office.
Zelenskiy said on Friday that a deal on U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine was ready, and that he was only waiting on Trump for a specific date and place to sign it.
Source : Reuters.com
