Next round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks to take place in Abu Dhabi in March, Zelensky says

The next round of US-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will “most likely” take place in Abu Dhabi in early March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday after Ukrainian and US officials met in Geneva.

In his nightly address to Ukrainians, Zelensky said that Kyiv’s goal was now to “finalise everything achieved so far for real security guarantees” and to arrange for an in-person meeting between himself and Vladimir Putin as Russia’s full-scale invasion enters its fifth year.

“At the end of the day, leaders decide key issues and when it comes to Russia — such a personalist regime — this is relevant even more than in other countries,” Zelensky added.

Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, Kyiv’s lead negotiator, said he and Davyd Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, were working on security and economic issues to ensure a “substantive” next round of talks following Thursday’s meeting with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

That meeting focused in particular on Ukraine’s economy and “long-term support mechanisms” for the country, Umerov added, including US investment and plans for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.

According to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Putin’s Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev also met with Witkoff and Kushner in Geneva on Thursday, but hadn’t commented on how the talks went.

The first two rounds of trilateral talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US officials in Abu Dhabi earlier this year brought little notable progress towards ending the war, however, with Zelensky accusing Russia of “trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage” by the time a third round of talks was held in Geneva in mid-February.