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- The proposal follows: Russia, the United States and Ukraine are preparing for the second day of negotiations
The proposal follows: Russia, the United States and Ukraine are preparing for the second day of negotiations
The current negotiations in the UAE should become a prologue for more specific agreements on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, the Federation Council told Izvestia. At the same time, the parties have not yet reported on any results of the first day of the new round of meetings in Abu Dhabi. The positions of experts regarding its prospects are divided. While some point to possible success, others believe that a real breakthrough is still far away. The background of the meetings in the UAE and what the parties can come to is described in the Izvestia article.
The first day of the new round
The meeting in Abu Dhabi, as in the previous one on January 23-24, was held in a closed format: no press conferences were held. The Kremlin stressed that they do not plan to publish reports on the progress of the negotiations yet. The work is scheduled to continue on February 5.
The UAE authorities expressed hope for progress. The country's Foreign Ministry noted that it is possible based on the results of the first round. Although it is difficult to talk about the results yet, it is possible that the meeting in the UAE may become a prologue for specific agreements on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, said Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs.
— Of course, they should become a prologue. But let's hope that this prologue will take place. It depends on the contractual capacity of the parties. It doesn't always work out," he told Izvestia.
Cars with members of the Russian delegation after arrival to participate in the Russia–USA–Ukraine trilateral talks
The Russian delegation arrived in the UAE last night. It is headed by Igor Kostyukov, Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. Curiously, shortly after landing in the Emirates, Kirill Dmitriev, the special representative of the President of Russia for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, posted a photo of Abu Dhabi from the plane. It is not known whether he participated in the discussions.
The US delegation included Special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Commissioner of the Federal Procurement Service Josh Grunbaum and Commander of the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe Alexus Grinkevich. The Ukrainian group was headed by NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov. He revealed the "kitchen" of the negotiation process: the work is carried out using the "shuttle" method. First, the positions are polished in specialized groups, and then combined into a single array in general sessions. Ukraine and the United States called the meeting productive.
Commenting on the negotiations, the head of the State Department, Marco Rubio, stressed that the very fact of their holding is good news, and noted that the United States intends to continue them. Rubio also said that the extent of the progress made would remain unknown until a clear breakthrough.
Meanwhile, the outlines of future agreements are already being discussed in the information field. A number of media outlets, citing sources, report that the dialogue is conducted with the understanding that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO. At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned: if Kiev brought the ideas of alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte to the UAE (he hinted at the introduction of a "coalition of the willing" to Ukraine the day before in Parliament), then you can forget about the settlement. "This will show again that Zelensky does not want peace," Lavrov said.
Additional tension was created by the situation around the so-called energy truce, which lasted from January 25 to February 1. Vladimir Zelensky tried to convince the White House that Russia had violated its promise not to hit the energy grid, demanding a reaction from Donald Trump. However, the American leader did not succumb to Zelensky's trick. On the morning of February 4, Donald Trump actually disavowed Kiev's claims, saying that Vladimir Putin keeps his word and there have been no strikes during the week.
Pressure on Kiev is increasing
Washington says that with the mediation of the American side, it was possible to "narrow down a number of problems to one central one," referring to the territorial issue. At the same time, the plan for security guarantees has already been agreed. We are talking about sending a European military contingent to Ukraine, which, in case of a threat, will receive protection from the United States.
According to Sergey Lavrov, Russia does not know what security guarantees the United States and Ukraine have agreed on. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov noted that the issue of territories is a key one in the settlement, but "many others remain on the agenda." Kiev believes that this topic should be discussed at the leadership level.
Moscow insists on the final withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbass, stressing that the Russian Federation will release him in any case and the only question is the timing. Kiev categorically rejects the unilateral withdrawal of troops, insisting on freezing the conflict along the current front line and a cease-fire.
Experts point to the harsh pressure that Kiev is under today. As French political analyst Xavier Moreau noted in an interview with Izvestia, Ukraine is experiencing military pressure from Russia and internal pressure from US—controlled anti-corruption authorities.
— So I'm rather optimistic. I am not saying that the negotiations in Abu Dhabi will immediately produce results, but we are in a cycle that, in fact, began in Anchorage and, as I think, will end this year at least with the cessation of hostilities with a more or less forced withdrawal of "NATO-Kiev" troops from Donbass. — he noted.
At the same time, a real peace agreement is not yet visible, says Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to him, only "talks about negotiations" are underway now.
— So far, I don't see any prospects for a settlement in the legal sense. Trump can only offer a deal that actually resembles Minsk 3: "temporarily, not temporarily, let's draw a line of demarcation, and then we'll do business." There is no international law in this logic — this is not a legal approach, but an economic one: "today is mine, tomorrow is yours," as in the example of Greenland, the Izvestia interlocutor explained.
According to Vasiliev, this approach leaves unresolved key issues — the presence of an 800,000-strong army in Ukraine and the presence of NATO forces, which in the future will inevitably lead to revenge attempts. Until the legal and power contradictions are resolved, it is not worth waiting for changes at the negotiating table, the expert emphasized.
Nevertheless, it would be premature to assert that such contacts are devoid of practical meaning. Following the results of the round on January 23-24, Western media, citing sources, noted that the discussions took place in an atmosphere of mutual respect: the parties touched on the most pressing topics, and a direct conversation did not scare off any of the participants.
Moreover, the press also wrote that the meeting "was not inconclusive," although the specifics will only come out over time. Ukrainian sources through the Axios publication called the results positive and constructive. Confirmation of these estimates came as early as January 29, when Russia and Ukraine conducted a large—scale exchange of bodies of the dead: Kiev received 1,000 bodies of military personnel, the Russian side - 38.
By the way, the last comparable episode was recorded back in November, while the current exchange has become one of the largest for the Ukrainian side in recent times. Russian Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky explained that this step was made possible thanks to the agreements reached back in the framework of the Istanbul Track. However, Kiev curtailed this negotiation format at the end of 2025.
The key outcomes of the meetings in Turkey (May 16, June 2, and July 23, 2025) were the exchange of prisoners and bodies of dead soldiers. However, Kiev actively criticized Moscow for the alleged "insufficient weight" of the negotiators. Kiev used the fact that the Russian group in Istanbul was headed by Vladimir Medinsky as an excuse to call the negotiations frivolous. However, the nature of the negotiations in Abu Dhabi has changed. And there are no more accusations from Ukraine of the "frivolity" of the Russian representative office.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
