Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said territorial disputes will dominate U.S.-brokered trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi this weekend, as Washington increases pressure on Kyiv to reach a peace settlement with Moscow.
Territorial issues set to lead negotiations
Speaking in a WhatsApp media chat on Friday, a day after meeting Donald Trump in talks both leaders described as constructive, Zelenskiy said territorial questions would be the priority of discussions beginning Friday evening.
“The question of Donbas is key. It will be discussed how the three sides…see this in Abu Dhabi today and tomorrow,” he said.
Donbas demands cited as obstacle
The talks come as Ukraine faces growing American pressure to end the nearly four-year conflict, while Russia demands Kyiv surrender the entire eastern Donbas region before halting hostilities.
Moscow’s insistence that Ukraine hand over the 20% of Donetsk region it still controls has emerged as a major obstacle. Zelenskiy has rejected ceding territory Russia has failed to capture despite four years of attritional warfare.
Security guarantees and frozen assets
Zelenskiy said a deal on American security guarantees for Kyiv was complete, with only a signing date and location awaiting Trump’s decision.
Ukraine has pushed for robust security commitments from Western allies to deter future Russian aggression in the event of a peace agreement, given Zelenskiy said Moscow has shown scant interest in ending the conflict.
On the question of using Russia’s frozen assets to finance reconstruction of Russian-held Ukrainian territory, Zelenskiy dismissed the notion as “nonsense”, rejecting Moscow’s earlier proposal to use the funds for rebuilding occupied areas.
“Of course, we will fight (to use the assets for Ukraine), and it is absolutely fair regarding the use of all frozen assets (by Ukraine),” he said.
What do you think should be the top priority in the Abu Dhabi talks?