FT: US And Ukraine Await Russian Federation's Response To UAE Meeting
- 22.01.2026, 21:24
Putin is to be offered an energy truce.
Ukraine and the United States want to offer the aggressor country Russia an energy truce at trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, which are expected to be held on January 23 and 24. This was informed by Financial Times with reference to sources.
About the first trilateral meeting in the UAE in the format of Ukraine - Russia - the United States after talks with US President Donald Trump on January 22 in Davos, the head of the Ukrainian state Vladimir Zelensky said. At the same time, he expressed hope that "the Emirates know about it."
"Sometimes we have such surprises from the American side," the president added.
He noted that the Russians "should be ready for compromises" - "not only Ukraine."
The Russian Federation itself has not yet confirmed its participation in the meeting, a senior US official told the FT. The Ukrainian and American sides are awaiting Moscow's response, the Ukrainian OP clarified in a media commentary.
U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Whitkoff and the White House chief's son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to discuss the idea with illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on January 22.
Whitkoff said he and Kushner would go straight to Abu Dhabi after meeting Putin.
A source told the FT that Russian Federation told the US this week that Putin was open to holding parallel talks with Ukraine, with mediators shuttling between delegations, but Moscow had not agreed to a trilateral format for the talks.
If Putin accepts the US proposal, the meeting would be the first time since Trump's return to the White House that US officials sit down at the negotiating table with Russian and Ukrainian representatives at the same time, the media outlet emphasized.
The US and Ukrainian delegations discussed the possibility of offering Russia a limited ceasefire under which the aggressor country would stop strikes on Ukrainian energy in exchange for Kiev halting attacks on Russian refineries and "shadow fleet" tankers, two sources informed the FT.
The talks are at an early stage, but Putin is unlikely to agree to such a proposal as he considers pressure on Ukraine's energy infrastructure an important leverage, the media interlocutor added.
The energy truce is also viewed with caution in Kiev. Long-range drones have been successfully hitting Russian oil and gas facilities and, more recently, oil tankers in the Black and Mediterranean seas, which fuel the Kremlin's war machine, the FT pointed out.