The Kremlin said on Thursday (January 29, 2026) ​that Russia had reiterated its invitation for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to come to Moscow ‌for peace talks, as U.S.-led efforts to reach a deal to end the ​nearly four-year war in Ukraine intensify. Washington-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi last weekend have injected some new momentum into efforts to clinch a peace deal, but profound differences persist between the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating stances. An unnamed U.S. official told Axios on ⁠Saturday that Mr. Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin were "very close" to setting up a meeting after the U.S.-mediated talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, cited by the Interfax news agency, said on Thursday ‌that Moscow had not yet received a response to its invitation for Mr. Zelenskyy to come to Moscow. Mr. Zelenskyy rejected a similar invitation last year, saying he could ‍not to go to the capital of a nation that was firing missiles at his country every day.