US-brokered Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi end for the day

KYIV - The first day of talks between Ukraine and Russia, brokered by the US, concluded in Abu Dhabi on Friday, said a source familiar with the matter, without providing further details.

"The meeting focused on the parameters for ending Russia's war and the further logic of the negotiation process aimed at advancing toward a dignified and lasting peace," Ukraine's chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said on X.

"Additional meetings are scheduled for tomorrow," he added.

The negotiations are due to resume for a final day on Saturday.

Kyiv is under mounting US pressure to reach a peace deal in the war triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Moscow demanding Kyiv cede its entire eastern industrial area of Donbas before it stops fighting. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the territorial dispute would be a central issue at the talks in the United Arab Emirates, which were scheduled to conclude on Saturday.

"The most important thing is that Russia should be ready to end this war, which it started," Zelenskiy said in a statement on the Telegram app, adding he was in regular contact with the Ukrainian delegation but it was too early to draw conclusions from Friday's talks.

"We'll see how the conversation goes tomorrow and what the outcome will be," he said.

The negotiations come a day after Zelenskiy held talks with US President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which yielded no immediate results.

The tripartite talks unfold against a backdrop of intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy system that have cut power and heating to major cities like Kyiv, as temperatures hover well below freezing.