Putin, Zelenskyy (AP file photos)
Russia on Friday said it was not backing away from its main demand that Ukraine withdraw its forces from the eastern Donbas region, just hours before talks involving Russian, Ukrainian and US officials in the United Arab Emirates.”Russia’s position is well known on the fact that Ukraine, Ukrainian armed forces, have to leave the territory of the Donbas. They must be withdrawn from there,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “This is a very important condition,” he added.The territory remains the central issue and would be discussed at what is expected to be the first direct public negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv linked to a peace plan being pushed by US President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year-long war.The talks come a day after Trump met Zelensky in Davos, and hours after US envoy Steve Witkoff held late-night discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.
The trilateral talks
Senior delegations from all three countries were travelling to Abu Dhabi on Friday. Ukraine’s delegation includes Zelensky’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, defence minister Rustem Umerov, senior lawmaker David Arakhamia and army commander Andriy Gnatov. Russia said its team would be led by General Igor Kostyukov, head of military intelligence, and would consist entirely of military officials. The US delegation is being led by Witkoff, with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also expected to take part. Zelensky said he planned to speak with his team later in the day before the meeting.Despite increased diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on the question of territory. Russian forces currently control about 20 percent of Ukraine. Putin has said Russia will seek full control of eastern Ukraine by force if talks fail. Ukraine has warned that giving up territory would encourage future attacks and says any peace deal must prevent another invasion.Territory remains the main obstacle. While Zelensky has previously suggested some flexibility, he has said any deal involving land concessions would require public approval. Russia has so far shown little interest in changing its position, even as fighting continues and Russian strikes this week left large parts of Kyiv without power and heating in freezing temperatures.Meanwhile, Russian drone attacks killed four people overnight in eastern Ukraine, including a five-year-old child, local authorities said on Friday. The strike late on Thursday in the Donetsk region injured five others and destroyed two homes, according to local prosecutors. The region remains a key target for Russia’s invading forces.
