The second round of talks between representatives of Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States, on ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took place in Abu Dhabi. The meeting has concluded, Reuters reported on January 24, citing an informed source, while AFP cited the Ukrainian delegation.

According to TASS and RIA Novosti, the Russian delegation returned to its hotel after nearly three hours of closed-door negotiations.

The first meeting of the Russian, Ukrainian, and American delegations was held in Abu Dhabi the previous day. The topic of the first meeting in the UAE was the “determining factors” that could bring an end to the war, Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said on the online platform X. The parties also discussed the “further logic of the negotiation process.”

Representatives of the three countries are holding direct consultations on the U.S. peace plan for the first time since the start of the war launched by Russia against its neighboring country. After the first day of talks, Russia carried out another large-scale attack on Ukraine. Kyiv stated that Russian missiles were directed, among other things, against the peace process.

Shortly before the talks began, Moscow reaffirmed its maximum demand for the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from the entire Donbas, including territories not previously controlled by Russia. Ukraine категорically refuses to do so, AFP notes.