Ukraine-Russia-US talks open in Abu Dhabi with territory as key issue

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said territorial disputes would be a central issue in the discussions but stressed that the most important thing is that Russia should be ready to end this war, which it started. In a statement shared on Telegram, Zelenskyy said he was in regular contact with the Ukrainian delegation, but it was too early to draw conclusions from Friday's talks. We'll see how the conversation goes tomorrow and what the outcome will be, he said."

"The discussions in Abu Dhabi on Friday were the first direct public negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv on a plan being pushed by US President Donald Trump's administration to end the conflict. The talks commenced today in Abu Dhabi and are scheduled to continue over two days, as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis, the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement."

"The discussions in the Emirati capital came a day after Zelenskyy met with Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and hours after US envoy Steve Witkoff held late-night talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. Reporting from the Russian capital Moscow, Al Jazeera's Yulia Shapovalova said the talks between Putin and Witkoff lasted nearly four hours but did not resolve the main sticking points to reaching a deal namely, territorial disputes and security guarantees."

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators began direct public talks in Abu Dhabi focused primarily on territorial disputes and potential political solutions. The discussions are part of a US-backed plan and are scheduled to continue over two days as the UAE seeks to promote dialogue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that territorial issues will be central while insisting that Russia must be willing to end the war it initiated. The talks followed meetings between Zelenskyy and US officials and late-night Kremlin talks between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin, which failed to resolve territorial and security guarantee disagreements.

Read at www.aljazeera.com