A second round of Moscow-Kiev peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States will take place in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi on February 1, the Kremlin said.
"Negotiations are scheduled for February 1. Well, tentatively, but that's what we're working with for now," the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
Peskov also denied that the parties involved in the negotiations are currently not discussing any list of documents and that discussions should continue behind closed doors.
"These negotiations are on a very sensitive topic. They're very complex negotiations. And discussing any specific segments publicly during the negotiations is detrimental to the negotiations," he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an evening address on Monday that preliminary discussions are underway for a continued meeting between delegations, saying these discussions indicate they would meet again on February 1.
On the same day, Peskov said the next round of US-mediated talks is planned for next week, again in Abu Dhabi, but he had not provided an exact date.
Russia, Ukraine and the US held two days of consultations in Abu Dhabi on January 23-24. Both Kiev and Washington described the talks as "constructive", while Peskov said contacts had begun in a constructive manner, but with "significant work ahead".
Last week, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks in Abu Dhabi, told an event in Davos, Switzerland, that "a lot of progress" had been made in Russia-Ukraine peace talks and that negotiations were down to one last issue.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in an interview published on Tuesday that Zelenskyy is ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to address the "most sensitive" issues remaining in a 20-point peace plan to end the nearly four-year war, which he said are territories and the operation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
Zelenskyy is welcomed in Moscow
Meanwhile, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov has said that Zelenskyy would be welcome in Moscow if he wishes to meet Putin.
"Our president has mentioned several times, talking to journalists, that if Zelenskyy is truly ready for a meeting, we invite him to Moscow," Ushakov said on Wednesday in an interview with the Russian state broadcaster VGTRK.
Ushakov confirmed that a potential Putin-Zelenskyy meeting was discussed several times during phone conversations between the Russian leader and US President Donald Trump.
"I'd like to say a few words regarding his statement that Zelenskyy is ready to meet with the Russian president. This is not a new issue for us. It has been discussed several times during telephone contacts between our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and President Trump of the US," he said.
The Kremlin aide noted that Trump, in particular, had suggested Putin consider such a meeting.
Ushakov emphasised that Russia would guarantee Zelenskyy's safety and provide working conditions if he travelled to Moscow.
"If Zelenskyy is indeed ready for such a meeting, he is welcome to Moscow. And we guarantee his safety and provide the necessary working conditions," he said.
He added that Moscow has never refused contact but believes such meetings must be properly prepared and aimed at achieving results.
