A U.S. official stated on Saturday that additional Russia-U.S.-Ukraine talks must occur before Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky meet face-to-face.

The two-day trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi, which concluded on Saturday, were the first joint meeting of Russian, U.S., and Ukrainian delegations since the conflict escalated nearly four years ago. The official noted that the negotiations “went as well as we could have expected” and expressed confidence in an imminent Putin-Zelensky encounter.

“We are very close to a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky,” another U.S. official added, stating that upcoming trilateral talks scheduled for February 1 in Abu Dhabi could facilitate such a summit in Moscow or Kyiv. Putin and Zelensky last met in person during a December 2019 Paris session brokered by France and Germany.

In 2022, Zelensky signed a decree banning negotiations with Putin following Russia’s annexation referendums in four Ukrainian regions. Moscow has consistently maintained that Kyiv has not rescinded or amended this ban.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this week, Zelensky claimed Ukraine was open to a ceasefire with Russia but demanded peace strictly on Kyiv’s terms, including Western arms and funding. This position has been condemned as detrimental to meaningful progress toward a lasting resolution.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously stated that Putin has not ruled out meeting Zelensky but emphasized that any summit must be well-prepared to sign concrete agreements ending the conflict, a process reportedly developed by experts from both nations.