ABU DHABI, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met on Friday with the heads of delegations taking part in trilateral talks between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine, which opened later in the day in Abu Dhabi, the UAE's state news agency WAM reported.
Sheikh Mohamed expressed hope the talks would yield progress toward ending the conflict and reaffirmed the UAE's commitment to supporting dialogue and diplomatic solutions, WAM said.
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a statement that the talks would last two days, adding he hoped they would lead to "tangible steps toward ending a crisis that has persisted for nearly four years and caused immense humanitarian suffering."
The meeting marks the first trilateral engagement involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine since the conflict began in 2022.
Participants include senior officials from all three sides, among them U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump; Russia's military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov; and senior Ukrainian officials, including Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, and Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
The talks follow hours of overnight discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump's envoys, which the Kremlin described as "constructive, extremely candid and useful for both Russia and the United States."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that his meeting with Trump in Davos, Switzerland, had been "productive and substantive." ■
