Abu Dhabi Talks Inject MomentumUS-mediated peace talks held in Abu Dhabi last weekend have lent renewed momentum to negotiations, though deep differences between Moscow and Kyiv remain unresolved. An unnamed US official told Axios on Saturday that Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin were “very close” to agreeing on a meeting following the Abu Dhabi discussions. Another round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Russia wants Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the roughly 20 per cent of the Donetsk region not currently under Russian control. Ushakov said on Thursday that he did not believe the land issue was the only critical matter remaining in negotiations.