Ukraine-Russia-US talks begin in UAE, Donbas region a sticking point

High-level meeting from the three countries comes a day after Trump met with Zelensky in Davos and US envoy met Putin in Kremlin

The Ukraine-Russia talks brokered by the US have started in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates' foreign ministry said on Friday, amid Moscow's demand that Kyiv pull out of its eastern Donbas region.

The talks commenced today in Abu Dhabi and are scheduled to continue over two days, the UAE's foreign ministry said. (AFP)

"The talks commenced today in Abu Dhabi and are scheduled to continue over two days, as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis," the UAE foreign ministry was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.

The high-level meeting from the three countries comes a day after US President Donald Trump met with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos and hours after US envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Following the talks, the Kremlin reportedly put forward a demand that Kyiv withdraw from the eastern Donbas region, reports said.

"Russia's position is well known on the fact that Ukraine, Ukrainian armed forces, have to leave the territory of the Donbas," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Kyiv, which holds control of around 20% of the eastern region, has called such terms unacceptable.

Zelensky reiterated openness to establishing a free trade zone under Ukraine’s control in the country’s east, Associated Press reported.

Before the talks, Ukraine said that Russia carried out strikes that killed three people in the Kharkiv region and four people in the east. Further, Russia intensified strikes on Ukraine's energy system, which has cut power and heating to major cities, including Kyiv.

Donbas, a key territorial issue

Both Ukraine and Russia recognised that the fate of Donbas is a major issue in the settlement of the war, which has killed thousands of people.

"The Donbas is a key issue," Zelensky said ahead of the talks in the UAE, adding that he and Trump had agreed on post-war security guarantees in Davos.

After Putin and Witkoff's meeting, Kremlin foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov said that a long term settement cannot be reached without solving the territorial issue.

Russian President Putin demands that Ukraine surrender the 20% of the Donetsk region in Donbas, which it has not been able to capture in four years of intense warfare.

Last summer, Russia and Ukraine met face to face in Istanbul in talks that ended only in deals to exchange the captured soldiers.