Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv and Moscow to hold trilateral peace talks with US for first time
Putin meets Trump envoys for midnight crunch talks before trilateral summit
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with three Trump envoys – Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Josh Gruenbaum – late Thursday to discuss a plan to end the war in Ukraine.
- Putin greeted the trio of Americans shortly before midnight in Moscow after Trump insisted a deal to end the war in Ukraine was "reasonably close” with only one outstanding issue remaining.
- Key sticking points in the peace talks include Russia's demand for Ukraine to cede 20% of the eastern Donetsk region and renounce its ambition to join NATO.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said security guarantees for Ukraine had been finalised after meeting Trump, but the issue of territory remains unresolved.
- Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, and the US are scheduled to hold trilateral meetings in Abu Dhabi Friday, with a deal on Ukraine's post-war economic recovery also reportedly nearing completion.