Kyiv, Feb 3: A new round of US-brokered talks on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine is set to go ahead this week after a brief postponement, a senior Kremlin official said Monday, with negotiations taking place against a backdrop of continued front-line fighting and deadly long-range attacks on rear areas.The trilateral talks will take place on Wednesday and Thursday in Abu Dhabi, where a previous meeting was held last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he would be sending a delegation to the meeting, which initially was to be held at the weekend but was delayed by what Peskov said were scheduling conflicts.
The Trump administration has over the past year pushed the two sides to find compromises. But breaking the deadlock on key issues appears no closer as the fourth anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour approaches later this month.
Peskov described the talks as “very complex.” A key sticking point is whether Russia gets to keep the Ukrainian territory its army has occupied, especially in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.
Moscow is also demanding possession of other Ukrainian land there that it hasn’t been able to capture.