Ukraine-Russia Talks in Abu Dhabi Stuck on Territorial Dispute

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met publicly for the first time under a U.S.-backed framework aimed at ending a war now approaching its fourth year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky framed the talks in stark terms, saying territorial disputes would be central but insisting that “the most important thing is that Russia should be ready to end this war, which it started.”

The UAE foreign ministry said discussions began Friday and would continue over two days, signaling a structured attempt to move beyond exploratory contacts toward defined political trade-offs.

The timing reflects intense diplomatic sequencing since the Abu Dhabi meeting followed Zelensky’s encounter with U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos one day earlier, and came hours after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff held nearly four hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Despite the compressed schedule, Russian officials made clear that movement hinges on geography, not process.

“A Very Important Condition”

Moscow’s position was restated bluntly. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s demand that Ukraine cede all of Donbas, including roughly 20 percent of Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control, was “a very important condition.” Kremlin adviser Yury Ushakov added that “reaching a long-term settlement can’t be expected without solving the territorial issue.”

Russia’s delegation in Abu Dhabi, led by Admiral Igor Kostyukov, was composed primarily of military officials, underscoring the security-first framing.

Russia continues to demand a Ukrainian military withdrawal from Donbas, a position Kyiv has rejected outright. Russian state media TASS said buffer zones and monitoring mechanisms were also discussed, suggesting Moscow is probing enforcement models without retreating from sovereignty claims.

De-Escalation Tracks and Energy Leverage

Alongside territorial talks, the U.S. and Ukraine have explored a limited energy ceasefire as a confidence-building step, according to the Financial Times. Under the proposal, Russia would halt strikes on Ukrainian power plants, heating systems, and water facilities in exchange for Ukraine stopping attacks on Russian oil refineries and Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers. The idea reflects winter pressures: Ukrainians have faced widespread power outages, while Kyiv’s long-range drones have increasingly targeted Russian energy infrastructure, including facilities in the Black Sea and Mediterranean.

Both sides, however, see risks. The Kremlin views energy strikes as a key source of leverage, while Ukraine considers its drone campaign a rare asymmetric tool undermining Russia’s war financing. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan summarized the impasse, saying that “as long as the territorial issue concerning Donbas is not resolved, the deadlock appears unlikely to be broken,” adding that ideas such as demilitarization or joint economic zones hinge on the unresolved question of sovereignty.

U.S. Pressure and Narrowed Scope

Similarly, Witkoff struck a cautiously optimistic tone, saying, “I believe we’ve narrowed it down to a single issue”, arguing the deadlock would be solved if both sides genuinely want to.

The U.S. delegation in Abu Dhabi included Witkoff, Trump adviser Jared Kushner, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, and NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich. Ukraine’s team featured senior security figures, including Rustem Umerov and intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.

U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking on Jan. 21, framed the talks through a transactional lens, saying the U.S. had previously spent “$350 billion” on Ukraine and claiming a rare earths deal would “probably get most of that back.”

His comment highlighted how economic and territorial calculations are now entwined in Washington’s approach, even as fighting continues.

Ahead of the talks, Russian strikes killed seven civilians in eastern Ukraine, including a five year old, underscoring the gap between diplomatic momentum and battlefield realities.