A trilateral meeting between delegations from Russia, the United States, and Ukraine began on Friday evening at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign ministry said.
The meeting marks the first trilateral engagement since the conflict began in 2022.
Participants include senior officials from all three sides, among them U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump; Russia's military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov; and senior Ukrainian officials, including Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, and Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
The talks followed hours of overnight discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump's envoys, which the Kremlin described as "constructive, extremely candid and useful for both Russia and the United States".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Ukrainian diplomatic team reported almost every hour from the UAE. They were discussing the parameters for ending the war.
Ukraine's position is clear, he said, adding that he has defined the framework for dialogue for their delegation.
As for the substance of Friday's discussions, it is still too early to draw conclusions, he said, and they will see how the conversation develops on Saturday and what results would come.
He also noted that Andriy Hnatov, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Vadym Skibitsky, deputy chief of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence will join the talks on Saturday.
UAE hosts first Russia-US-Ukraine talks since start of conflict
