Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States met Friday in Abu Dhabi for the first direct negotiations on a plan being pushed by US President Donald Trump to end the almost four-year-long war. The Abu Dhabi meeting is the first time they have faced each other to talk about the Trump administration’s plan. Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to get full control of eastern Ukraine by force if talks fail. After the Russia-US talks in the Kremlin, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov insisted Moscow was “genuinely interested in resolving” the war diplomatically. Trump repeated on Wednesday his belief that Putin and Zelensky were close to a deal.
