On January 31, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country is waiting for more information from the US about the next peace talks and expects to have new meetings next week.
In a video message for the evening, Mr. Zelensky seemed to show that the expected meeting on February 1st in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) between representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the US is unlikely to take place. Previously, the 3 sides had conducted a round of negotiations 1 week ago.
We maintain regular contact with the US side and are waiting for more specific information about the next meetings," Zelensky said.
Ukraine is ready to work in all frameworks. The important thing is that the meetings must be results-oriented and truly organized. We look forward to meetings next week and are preparing for that," he emphasized.
On the same day, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff led a delegation to conduct negotiations in Florida with Kremlin Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Witkoff described the discussions as "effective and constructive".
According to Mr. Witkoff, territorial issues are still key to achieving progress in negotiations. However, Kiev continues to reject Moscow's request for Ukraine to cede the entire Donbass region, including areas that the Russian military has not yet controlled.
Earlier this week, Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said that territory was not the only issue being discussed, but did not disclose further disagreements between the parties.
