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Sunday, January 25, 2026
 
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Zelenskyy says trilateral talks ended constructively and more possible next week

publish time

25/01/2026

publish time

25/01/2026

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to the media at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan 22. (AP)

KYIV, Ukraine, Jan 25, (AP): Two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the United States wrapped up Saturday with "constructive” discussions on "possible parameters" for ending the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Negotiators will return to the United Arab Emirates for the next round on Feb 1, according to a US official who described the meetings as upbeat and positive.

The talks are the first known instance that officials from the Trump administration have sat down with both countries as part of Washington’s push for progress to end Moscow’s nearly 4-year-old invasion. "All parties agreed to report to their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and to coordinate further steps with their leaders,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

The meetings covered a broad range of military and economic matters and included the possibility of a ceasefire before a deal, said the official. There was not yet an agreement on a final framework for oversight and operation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russia and is the largest in Europe.

The power generated from the plant will be shared "on an equitable basis,” according to the official, but control of it was still undecided. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said there was "an understanding of the need for American monitoring and control of the process of ending the war and ensuring real security.” US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated alongside Ukrainian officials, including chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy's chief of staff.

Russia sent military intelligence and army representatives, according to Zelenskyy. While Zelenskyy said in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday that a potential peace deal was "nearly ready,” certain sensitive sticking points - most notably those related to territorial issues - remain unresolved.

The US official said Russian and Ukrainian officials likely would need to hold further talks in Russia or Ukraine before there was a chance of Zelenskyy meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, or even a joint session with President Donald Trump. There seemed to be momentum to reach the stage of leader meetings, according to the official, who spoke to reporters in Washington on condition of anonymity to describe the private talks in Abu Dhabi.