Three-way peace talks

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the future of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region will be a key focus as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States prepared to meet in Abu Dhabi yesterday for talks to end Russia's nearly four-year full-scale invasion.

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News of the three-way meeting came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the settlement in Ukraine with Donald Trump's envoys during marathon overnight talks. The Kremlin insisted that to reach a peace deal, Kyiv must withdraw its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but never fully captured.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, reiterated his openness to establishing a free trade zone under Ukraine's control in the country’s east. He said he discussed the proposal with Trump in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, and told reporters: “I think it will be positive for our business.”