Abu Dhabi -- Ukraine on Jan. 24 concluded the second round of trilateral peace talks with Russia and the United States in the UAE, capping two days of negotiations in a renewed U.S.-led effort to push toward a settlement in Russia's full-scale war.

The talks between the three countries are set to continue in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 1.

U.S. Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on X that the two-day talks were "very constructive," and added that "(U.S.) President (Donald) Trump and his entire team are dedicated to bringing peace to this war."

"The main thing the discussions focused on was potential parameters for ending the war," President Volodymyr Zelensky said following the talks.

"I value greatly that there is an awareness of the necessity of American monitoring and control over the process of ending the war and maintaining real security."

A spokesperson for the UAE government said the discussions were conducted in a "constructive and positive atmosphere" and included direct engagement between Russian and Ukrainian representatives on a U.S.-proposed peace framework.

The talks began on Jan. 23 and followed an intense day of diplomacy on Jan. 22, when Zelensky met Trump in Davos, while U.S. envoys held separate late-night talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

The trilateral discussions were expected to focus on two core issues: the future of the partially occupied Donbas region and a potential halt to attacks on energy infrastructure, proposals Ukrainian and U.S. teams plan to put to the Russian side.

"The issue of Donbas is key," Zelensky told reporters before the talks began. "It will be discussed, and the modalities as seen by the three sides will be addressed in Abu Dhabi."

Moscow's preconditions
Those talks open under clear pressure from the Kremlin.

During meetings in Moscow on Jan. 22, Putin told a U.S. delegation that without resolving the territorial question, there is "no point in hoping" for a settlement of the war, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.

Putin insisted that any agreement must resolve the issue "according to the formula agreed upon in Anchorage," referring to the Putin–Trump meeting held in August 2025.

Ahead of that Alaska summit, the Kremlin had demanded that Kyiv withdraw its forces from parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts not fully occupied by Russia.

Ushakov said Putin reiterated that position to U.S. negotiators, framing it as a non-negotiable condition for progress toward a long-term deal.