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Russia said Friday it is not dropping its key demand that Ukraine withdraw its forces from the eastern Donbas region, ahead of three-way talks involving Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. officials in the United Arab Emirates.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine’s withdrawal from Donbas remains “a very important condition” for Moscow, stressing that Russia’s position on the issue is unchanged.
“Ukraine, Ukrainian armed forces, have to leave the territory of the Donbas. They must be withdrawn from there,” Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
The talks in Abu Dhabi are expected to mark the first direct public negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv under a diplomatic initiative pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year-long war.
High-level delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States were heading to Abu Dhabi on Friday for the talks, which come amid an intensified diplomatic push to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
Peskov said Russia’s delegation would consist entirely of military officials and defense ministry representatives, led by General Igor Kostyukov, head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.
He added that the names of the delegation members would not be disclosed for now.
“This is a working group dealing with security issues. These are the first meetings,” Peskov said.
He also noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for international economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would hold separate talks in Abu Dhabi.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said territory remains the central issue and will be on the agenda during the talks.
“The Donbas is a key issue,” Zelenskyy told reporters, adding that the talks are a step toward ending the war, while cautioning that the outcome remains uncertain.
Ukraine’s delegation includes Zelenskyy’s new chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, negotiator David Arakhamia and ground forces commander Andriy Gnatov.
Russia currently occupies around 20% of Ukraine’s territory. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Moscow would seek full control of eastern Ukraine by force if negotiations fail.
Kyiv has warned that ceding territory would embolden Russia and says it will not sign any peace agreement that fails to prevent renewed aggression.
The Abu Dhabi talks follow a meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy at the World Economic Forum in Davos and late-night discussions between Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Putin at the Kremlin.
Following those talks, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said discussions with U.S. officials were “useful in every respect,” while insisting Russia remains interested in resolving the conflict through political and diplomatic means.
“Until that happens, Russia will continue to achieve its objectives on the battlefield,” Ushakov said.
Trump has said he believes both Putin and Zelenskyy are close to reaching a deal, though the territorial issue remains a major sticking point.
Zelenskyy has said any agreement involving territorial concessions would require a public vote in Ukraine.
Russian strikes this week have left large parts of Kyiv without electricity and heat amid sub-zero temperatures, affecting residents in thousands of buildings.
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