UAE To Host First Trilateral Talks On Ukraine War With US, Russia And Kyiv: Zelenskyy

The United Arab Emirates will convene trilateral negotiations on the Ukraine conflict from today, bringing together officials from Ukraine, the United States and Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

announced. Speaking following his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskyy described the meetings as the first trilateral engagement of their kind to be hosted by the UAE.

“This will be the first trilateral meeting in the Emirates, taking place tomorrow and the day after,” he said, emphasizing that any breakthrough would hinge on Moscow’s readiness to negotiate in good faith.

“The Russians must be prepared to make compromises,” Zelenskyy said. He offered no further details on the format of the discussions or whether Ukrainian and Russian officials would engage in direct negotiations.

Zelenskyy’s Stark Warning To Europe At Davos
Earlier at the summit, Zelenskyy delivered a blistering critique of Europe’s security posture, arguing that little had changed since his address at the same forum a year earlier, when he urged European leaders to prioritize continental self-defense.

“A year has passed. Nothing has changed,” he said, accusing Europe of recycling the same debates without taking decisive action to protect itself or provide meaningful support to Ukraine.

Drawing on popular culture, Zelenskyy compared Europe’s response to the war to the film Groundhog Day, in which the protagonist relives the same day endlessly.

“Everyone remembers that great American film, but no one would want to live that way-repeating the same thing for weeks, months, and years. Yet that is exactly how we live now,” he said, warning that prolonged indecision was undermining both Europe’s security and its credibility.

The Ukrainian President portrayed Europe as politically fragmented, operating more as a patchwork of individual nations than as a cohesive global force.

“Europe still feels more like geography, history and tradition- not a great political power,” he said, adding, “It remains a fragmented kaleidoscope of small and medium-sized states.”

Zelenskyy also cautioned against banking on persuading Washington to shift its approach, insisting that Europe must chart its own course.

Stalled Peace Efforts Gain New Momentum
The current diplomatic push gained traction when Donald Trump returned to office last year pledging “peace within 24 hours.” By August 2025, the “Alaska Summit” and subsequent White House meetings had reopened direct negotiation channels after months of stalemate.

Optimism peaked in December 2025, when Zelenskyy met Trump in Paris and later in Miami, publicly declaring that nearly 90% of a peace framework had been finalized. As 2026 began, diplomatic activity intensified without yielding a final resolution. On January 6, European allies convened under the banner of a “Coalition of the Willing” to coordinate security guarantees with Washington, recognizing that any agreement lacking credible protections for Ukraine would be doomed from the start.