Next round of US-Russia-Ukraine talks to begin Feb. 4, Zelenskyy says
LONDON -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that the next round of trilateral U.S.-Ukraine-Russia peace talks will be held in the United Arab Emirates on Feb. 4 and 5.
"Our negotiating team has just delivered a report," Zelenskyy said, announcing the dates for the next round of talks in Abu Dhabi. "Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we are interested in ensuring that the outcome brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war."
Zelenskyy's announcement came after U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff said that American and Russian representatives held "productive and constructive" meetings regarding the war in Ukraine in Florida on Saturday.
The meeting was the latest in President Donald Trump's ongoing push to end Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor, the fourth anniversary of which will come later this month.
The U.S. delegation for Saturday's meetings in Florida included Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, White House senior advisor Josh Gruenbaum. Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev -- who is also the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund -- represented Moscow.
In a post to X, Witkoff said the U.S. was "encouraged" that Russia is working towards securing peace with Ukraine.
Dmitriev likewise said in a post to X, "Constructive meeting with the US peacemaking delegation."
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is "in regular contact with the U.S. side" and was waiting to receive information on the latest round of talks.
"Ukraine is ready to work in all effective formats. What matters is the results. And that meetings happen. We are counting on meetings next week and are preparing for them," Zelenskyy added.
The next round of talks will follow a landmark round of negotiations held in the UAE last month, which were the first trilateral U.S.-Ukraine-Russia talks since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The Ukrainian and Russian delegations are scheduled to meet as a brief and limited energy infrastructure truce expired on Sunday. The agreement was brokered by Trump last week, with the Kremlin confirming that it would not attack energy targets in Kyiv until Feb. 1.
Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Ukraine would "mirror the restraint."
Long-range strikes by both sides nonetheless continued. Ukraine's air force said on Sunday that Russia had launched 90 drones into the country overnight, of which 76 were shot down or suppressed. Fourteen drones impacted across nine locations, the air force said.
Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said on Sunday morning that its forces had downed at least 21 Ukrainian drones overnight.
ABC News' Mariam Khan contributed to this report
