Russia, Ukraine and US set to hold security talks in Abu Dhabi

Friday’s meeting in Abu Dhabi comes after talks between Russian president Vladimir Putin, US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to the media at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. Picture: AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Ukraine, Russia and the US are set to hold three-way talks in Abu Dhabi on Friday, marking the first time that the three countries have sat down together since Russia invaded in 2022.

The meeting was confirmed in the early hours of Friday morning after talks at the Kremlin between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, the US envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters those talks were “useful in every respect”, adding that it was “agreed that the first meeting of a trilateral working group on security issues will take place today in Abu Dhabi”.