Axios: US expects Zelenskyy-Putin meeting to draw closer after latest talks

US officials have described the Ukraine-Russia talks in the United Arab Emirates on 23-24 January as a "step" towards a possible meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

Source: Axios, as reported by European Pravda

Details: US officials familiar with the meetings have said the trilateral talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi were "productive" and resulted in progress.

Axios sources state this has brought the next stage of the talks closer – a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy.

"We saw a lot of respect in the room because they were really looking for solutions," the source told Axios.

A US official suggested that if the next trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi, due to take place on 1 February, delivers further progress, it could lead to a meeting between the sides in Moscow or Kyiv – something that has not happened for years.

Background:

• Trilateral talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia took place in Abu Dhabi on 23-24 January.
• It was reported that the sides made progress on military issues.
• Before the talks began, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary, said the Kremlin insists that Ukraine's Armed Forces withdraw from Donbas, presenting this as an important condition for negotiations on ending the war.

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