Three-party consultations were held in Abu Dhabi with the participation of representatives from Russia, Ukraine, and the USA. Details of the discussions are practically not disclosed, however, it is expected that the key issue was territory. Sources from the Ukrainian side characterized the negotiations as 'constructive' and conducted in a positive manner.
Meetings began in the afternoon on Friday, January 23, and concluded on Saturday afternoon.
The Ukrainian side was represented by a delegation led by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov. The U.S. was represented in the negotiations by the President's special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner—Donald Trump's son-in-law, as well as the Secretary of the Army and Special Representative for Ukraine, Dan Driscoll.
The Russian delegation was headed by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Igor Kostyukov; it consisted exclusively of representatives of the Ministry of Defense.
Official participant lists were not published; however, the publication 'Agency' identified the identities of two participants from photographs of the event. They turned out to be the first deputy head of the information department of the GRU, Alexander Zorin, and translator Ilya Kurepov.
The Office of the President of Ukraine explained that negotiations took place in several formats, including communication in separate groups. They noted that in the current approach of partners, informal communication, such as over lunch, may hold more significance than official meetings.
TASS also reported on the multi-format nature of the meetings on Saturday, citing a source.
In addition, a representative of the UAE authorities, quoted by Reuters, stated that the delegations of Russia and Ukraine communicated directly during the negotiations.