Ukrainian president says Donbas question and security guarantees will dominate trilateral discussions as pressure mounts to reach a peace framework.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that the future of Ukrainian territory, particularly the eastern Donbas region, will be a central focus of U.S.-brokered trilateral talks with Russia set to take place in Abu Dhabi over the next two days.
Speaking in a WhatsApp media briefing, Zelenskyy said the territorial question is the most critical issue facing negotiations as Kyiv faces growing pressure from the United States to reach a settlement in the nearly four-year war with Moscow.
“The question of Donbas is key,” Zelenskyy said. “It will be discussed how the three sides see this in Abu Dhabi today and tomorrow.”
An aide to the Ukrainian president said the talks are scheduled to begin Friday evening.
Russia has demanded that Ukraine relinquish control of the entire Donbas region as a condition for ending hostilities. That demand includes areas of eastern Ukraine that remain under Kyiv’s control, including roughly 20% of the Donetsk region. Zelenskyy has consistently rejected any proposal requiring Ukraine to surrender territory that Russian forces have failed to capture during years of fighting.
Zelenskyy’s comments came one day after he met with President Donald Trump, following talks both leaders described as positive. He said discussions in Abu Dhabi would prioritize territorial issues alongside broader peace terms.
The Ukrainian leader also said an agreement outlining U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine is complete and awaiting final confirmation from Trump regarding the time and location for signing.
Ukraine has sought firm security guarantees from its allies as part of any peace arrangement, citing concerns that Russia could resume military action even after a ceasefire or settlement.
Zelenskyy dismissed suggestions that frozen Russian assets could be used to fund reconstruction in Russian-occupied areas or inside Russia itself, calling the idea “nonsense.”
“Of course, we will fight to use the assets for Ukraine,” he said, adding that using frozen Russian funds for Ukrainian reconstruction would be “absolutely fair.”
Russia has previously proposed that frozen assets be used to rebuild territories under its control within Ukraine, a position Kyiv has rejected.
As negotiations begin in Abu Dhabi, the dispute over territory remains one of the most entrenched obstacles to a negotiated end to the conflict, with neither side signaling a willingness to compromise on core demands.
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