US, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators to meet in UAE for security talks

Ukrainian US and Russian officials will hold security talks in the United Arab Emirates on Friday the Kremlin said following a meeting of top US negotiators with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on a USdrafted plan to end the Ukraine warDiplomatic efforts to end Europes deadliest conflict since World War II have gained pace in recent months though Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over the key issue of territory in a postwar settlementUS negotiators led by envoy Steve Witkoff talked with the Russian leader in Moscow into the early hours of Friday according to a Kremlin statement Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters their discussions had been useful in every respectWitkoff and the US team are next flying to Abu Dhabi where talks are expected to continueA Russian delegation headed by General Igor Kostyukov director of Russias GRU military intelligence agency will also head there in the coming hours according to UshakovIt was agreed that the first meeting of a trilateral working group on security issues will take place today in Abu Dhabi Ushakov added We are genuinely interested in resolving the conflict through political and diplomatic means he said but added Until that happens Russia will continue to achieve its objectives on the battlefieldWitkoff previously said he believed the two sides were down to one issue without elaborating Video published by the Kremlin showed a smiling Putin shaking hands with Witkoff US President Donald Trumps soninlaw Jared Kushner and White House advisor Josh GruenbaumThe highstakes meeting came just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a draft deal was nearly nearly ready and that he and Trump had agreed on the issue of postwar security guarantees He also said the UK and France had already committed to forces on the groundRussia which occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine is pushing for full control of the countrys eastern Donbas region as part of a deal But Kyiv has warned that ceding ground will embolden Moscow and says it will not sign a peace deal that fails to deter Russia from launching a renewed assaultEurope fragmentedThe full details of the upcoming talks in the United Arab Emirates have not been released and it is not clear whether the Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet facetofaceZelensky said these talks would last two daysTrump repeated on Wednesday his oftstated belief that Putin and Zelensky were close to a deal I believe theyre at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done And if they dont theyre stupid that goes for both of them he said after delivering a speech at DavosZelensky at his address in Davos blasted the EUs lack of political will in countering Putin in a fiery address Instead of becoming a truly global power Europe remains a beautiful but fragmented kaleidoscope of small and middle powers he saidTrumps dramatic foreign policy pivots including a recent bid to take over GreenlandAn autonomous Danish territory has stirred worries in Europe about whether Washington can be trusted as a reliable security partner In his speech Zelensky criticised Europe for pinning hopes on the United States defending them in case of aggression Europe looks lost trying to convince the US President to change Zelensky saidRussian strikes this week have left most of Kyiv without electricity with residents of 4000 buildings without heat in subzero temperatures Russia which launched its Ukraine offensive in February 2022 says its strikes are aimed at energy infrastructure fuelling Ukraines militaryindustrial complexKyiv says the strikes are a war crime designed to wear down its civilian population into submissionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever