US, Ukrainian and Russian officials to meet in UAE: Kremlin

MOSCOW: Ukrainian, US, and Russian officials will meet in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, the Kremlin said, following "useful" talks between President Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow.

Diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine war have gained pace in recent months, though Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over the key issue of territory in a post-war settlement.

US negotiators, led by envoy Steve Witkoff, talked with the Russian leader in Moscow until the early hours of Friday, according to a Kremlin statement.

Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters their discussions had been "useful in every respect."

Witkoff and the US team are next flying to Abu Dhabi, where talks are expected to continue.

A Russian delegation, headed by General Igor Kostyukov, director of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, will also head there "in the coming hours, according to Ushakov.

"It was agreed that the first meeting of a trilateral working group on security issues will take place today in Abu Dhabi," Ushakov added.

Further details of the talks in the United Arab Emirates have not been released, and it is not clear whether Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet face-to-face.

"We are genuinely interested in resolving (the conflict) through political and diplomatic means," Ushakov told reporters.

"Until that happens, Russia will continue to achieve its objectives... on the battlefield."

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a draft deal was "nearly, nearly ready" and that he and Trump had agreed on the issue of post-war security guarantees.