Overview
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the meeting is expected on February 1 in Abu Dhabi and that modalities will be finalized up to the day of talks, which remain confidential.
- Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said the next contact was arranged as a lower‑level Russia–Ukraine bilateral by the United States and Ukraine, with Washington able to join, and he stressed that security guarantees were not agreed with Moscow.
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told senators there is a general agreement on a security guarantees framework involving small European contingents supported by the United States.
- Moscow reiterated it rejects any NATO or other foreign troop deployments in Ukraine as unacceptable and escalatory, with President Vladimir Putin previously saying such forces would be lawful targets.
- The territorial issue remains the main unresolved point, with Washington trying to narrow differences; Russian delegate Admiral Igor Kostyukov signaled readiness for the next round as the UAE continues its facilitator role.