Ukraine-Russia talks: First round concludes

The first round of direct talks between Ukraine and Russia ended this evening, in Abu Dhabi.

Before the meeting ended, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the next negotiations were scheduled for tomorrow.

Peace negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the United States of America began today in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu Dhabi.

Zelensky said the discussions would focus on territorial issues.

"It is too early to draw conclusions about the content of the negotiations today: We will see how the talks go tomorrow and what the results will be," Zelensky said in his evening message in Kyiv.

"The meeting was devoted to the conditions for ending the Russian war," Ukraine's chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said this evening. He did not provide further details.

"I hope that the trilateral talks will contribute to 'tangible steps' to end the nearly four-year-old crisis," UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said earlier.

Russian state media reported that the negotiations would be held behind closed doors.

At the heart of the talks is Russia's condition for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the part of Donbass that is still under Kiev's control.

Donbass is an area in eastern Ukraine that is mainly concentrated in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in the country's traditional coal mining region.