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U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held an hour-long meeting Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, discussing the future of the nearly four-year war between Ukraine and Russia.
Both leaders described the discussion as positive, raising hopes for a potential breakthrough in diplomatic efforts.
"I had a very good meeting with President Zelenskyy. Everybody wants to have the war end," Trump told reporters following the session.
Zelenskyy called the conversation "productive and substantive," noting that coordination between their respective teams has intensified. "Practically every day there are meetings or communication," he said, adding that "the documents are now even better prepared."
One of the key topics discussed was air defense. Zelenskyy said that previous talks with Trump had helped reinforce Ukraine’s ability to protect its skies and that he had requested another package of U.S-supplied air defense missiles during Thursday’s meeting.
"I thanked him for the previous package of air defense missiles and asked for an additional one," Zelenskyy said in a statement on X.
He indicated cautious optimism, saying that talks are progressing and that documents for a potential peace are being refined. "I really hope that the Russians will be ready for compromises," Zelenskyy added. "Because it is not only the Ukrainian side that should be ready for compromises."
Zelenskyy also announced that the first direct meeting between the U.S, Russia, and Ukraine will take place in the United Arab Emirates on Friday and Saturday.
"This will be the first tripartite meeting in the Emirates, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow," Zelenskyy said during the Davos plenary session. He noted that the UAE authorities had not been formally notified yet but added, "This meeting should take place."
U.S. envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, are expected to travel to Moscow on Thursday evening before heading to Abu Dhabi for working-level discussions. "We have peace in the Middle East… and I believe another one’s coming pretty soon," Trump said earlier in the day, expressing confidence in the trajectory of negotiations.
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The Kremlin confirmed separately that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet with U.S. representatives in Moscow before the anticipated UAE gathering. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the Russian leader would hold a session with the American envoys Thursday evening.
Although Zelenskyy did not specify the level of delegations for the upcoming tripartite meetings, he acknowledged the fluidity of the timeline. "Perhaps the meeting won't happen right away, perhaps we’ll have to wait," he said.
"But tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, we have scheduled tripartite meetings. This is better than the complete lack of dialogue."
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