Zelensky Warns ‘It’s About the Land’ Ahead of US–Russia Talks
Zelensky says peace talks with the US and Russia hinge on eastern Ukraine, as land, security guarantees, and compromise dominate UAE negotiations.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that trilateral talks involving Russia, the United States, and Ukraine would be held in the United Arab Emirates to end the war in Ukraine, following his meeting with President Donald Trump in Davos.
As diplomatic momentum appeared to be building, Trump said his meeting with Zelensky had gone well, and US envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow for talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Witkoff, who was traveling to Moscow with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, said he was hopeful about a deal.
"I think we've gotten to an issue, and we've discussed different aspects of that issue, and that means it can be resolved," he said before leaving the Swiss resort.
Trump's envoy did not elaborate on the remaining sticking point, but Zelensky later clarified that the future status of eastern Ukraine was the issue that remained unresolved.
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He clarified that the talks in the Emirates would involve Russia, as well as the US and Ukraine, and said that "not only Ukraine, but Russia also has to be ready for a compromise."
Speaking to reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelensky said, "It's all about the land. That's the issue that hasn't been resolved yet," adding that the trilateral talks could offer "options" to both sides.
The US proposal for Ukraine's industrial heartland in Donbas is for a demilitarized and free economic zone to be created in exchange for security guarantees for Kyiv.
"If both sides want to resolve it, we will resolve it," Witkoff said, explaining that he would travel to Abu Dhabi after Moscow, where working groups would address military issues as well as economic prosperity.
Zelensky also told reporters that he had reached an agreement with Trump on future US security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a deal. He provided no details but said it would have to be presented to the US Congress and the Ukrainian parliament before being signed.
While he said the British and French-led "coalition of the willing" had deployed troops on the ground to monitor the agreement, he insisted that Trump's support would also be necessary: "No security guarantee works without America."
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Earlier, he had used his speech in Davos to criticize his European allies for a lack of "political will" to take action against Russia. "Internal debates and unspoken things prevent Europe from uniting and honestly discussing to find real solutions," he said, drawing a comparison with the US under Trump.
"President Trump likes himself, and he says he likes Europe, but he won't listen to this kind of Europe," he added.
The Ukrainian president had traveled to Davos overnight.
He had initially canceled his trip to deal with the aftermath of Russian attacks on Kyiv's power infrastructure, which left large parts of the capital without heating, water, or electricity during the harshest winter of Russia's nearly four-year-long full-scale war. Thousands of apartment blocks still lack heating.
Zelenskyy said last month that a US 20-point plan to end the war was 90% complete and that Ukraine's position on Donbas in eastern Ukraine differed from Russia's.
As part of the US 20-point plan, Zelensky has offered to withdraw troops 40 km (25 miles) from the 25% of the Donetsk region that Ukraine still controls to create an economic zone in Donbas, provided Russia does the same. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that talks with US envoys would continue "on the Ukrainian issue and other related topics," and he declined to say whether he shared Witkoff's optimism about reaching an agreement.
Putin aspires to control the entire region, and Russian forces have been slowly advancing in the east over the past year.
Another major issue that Zelensky highlighted last month was the future control of Ukraine's vast Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which was seized by Russia in March 2022.
Zelensky joked that he hoped the Emirates were aware of the planned meeting, but given the seriousness of the talks, he named some of his most senior officials who would be participating in the Ukrainian delegation.
The head of the country's National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, was already in Davos speaking with US officials, along with Zelensky's chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov and negotiator David Arakhamia. They would be joined by the chief of the General Staff, Andriy Hnatov.
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