The Kremlin has said that talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States on ending the war remain at an early stage, warning against expecting tangible results.
“It would be wrong to expect much in the way of results,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday in Moscow, referring to the trilateral talks last weekend in the United Arab Emirates.
The Russian state news agency TASS reported that Peskov said that the topics discussed in Abu Dhabi were difficult, “but the very fact that these contacts have begun constructively must be seen as positive.”
In the first direct negotiations between the warring parties in months, it was only agreed to continue the talks after a week, and a date has not yet been set.
Peskov contradicted reports from US representatives that there was an almost friendly atmosphere between the Ukrainians and Russians involved. “That is hardly possible at this stage,” he said.
Peskov referred to the “Anchorage formula” outlining Russia’s interests, a reference to a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August 2025. No agreement from that meeting has been made public.
Russia wants the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from parts of the eastern Donbass region that are still under Kiev’s control. The Ukrainian government rejects this demand.
German security expert Nico Lange wrote on X that it seems as though Trump made promises in Anchorage that he is now unable to deliver, which is why the US is pressurising Ukraine to make concessions.