Here’s the latest on the first trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US as negotiators set plans for future meetings

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi highlighted the progress made by Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi on Sunday, although the path to peace remains unclear.

“There was a lot of discussion, and it is important that the conversation was constructive,” Zelensky wrote on social media, adding that “the central focus of the conversation was possible criteria for ending the war.”

The tripartite talks on Friday and Saturday marked the first time officials from all three countries have sat together since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. A US official stressed that the meeting marked a significant step forward after months of quiet diplomacy, and that while a final deal was not guaranteed, progress would not be possible without face-to-face talks.

The diplomatic effort comes after Russia launched its biggest airstrikes in Ukraine this year.

Although the two-day meeting failed to reach a conclusion, the parties expressed hope that an agreement would be reached in the future.

“If there is readiness to move forward – and Ukraine is ready – the next meetings will probably take place early next week,” Zelensky said.

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Wittkoff, described the talks as “very constructive” and noted that “talks were planned to continue next week in Abu Dhabi.”

“President Trump and his entire team are dedicated to bringing peace to this war,” Wittkoff said.

The next round of talks will begin in Abu Dhabi on February 1, US officials said.

On Sunday, Zelensky said the document outlining security guarantees sought by Ukraine — a key issue for the country’s post-war stability in Ukraine — is “100% ready.”

Kiev now hopes to set a time and place to sign the agreement, he said.

“For us, the security guarantees are mainly bilateral security guarantees with the United States. The document is 100% ready. We expect it to be ready with the date and place of signing by our partners,” Zelenskiy said at a press conference in Lithuania.

He added that the document would have to be approved by the US Congress and the Ukrainian parliament.

The U.S. has led bilateral talks with Ukraine and Russia for months, working to resolve issues that remain as fighting rages on.

In Abu Dhabi, negotiators discussed a revised 20-point plan to address regional, economic, security and other issues.

Despite the progress made by the United States and the Ukrainian parties, the issue of the division of the territory continued as a point of contention, with no clear solution found.

Russia’s main demand is control of the eastern Ukrainian region known as Donbas, which includes the coal-rich regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Ahead of the Abu Dhabi talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine’s withdrawal from Donbas was a key condition for Moscow.

“Russia’s position is well known: Ukrainian armed forces must leave Donbas, withdraw from there; this is a very important condition,” Peskov said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov reiterated this after the talks, telling state news agency TASS that Moscow wants to develop a plan that is “fully consistent with the basic understanding” reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump at their summit in Alaska last year.

The agreement stipulated that Ukraine would cede the remaining Donetsk and Luhansk regions in exchange for a ceasefire.

Ukraine has consistently rejected the idea of ​​making territorial concessions for a peace deal.

Amid the round of talks in Abu Dhabi, Russia continued its assault on Ukraine, launching a barrage of missile and drone strikes targeting the capital Kyiv and Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv.

At least one person was killed and four others were injured in Kyiv, the city’s mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, said.

Falling debris has caused fires and damaged buildings, Klitschko said, adding that some 6,000 apartment blocks in Kiev lost heat amid a bitterly cold winter.

Foreign Minister Andrei Sibiha accused Putin of ordering a “barbaric attack” in Abu Dhabi as the diplomatic process progressed.

“Every Russian attack on our energy infrastructure proves that there should be no delay in air defense supplies. These strikes cannot be turned a blind eye; they must be met with a strong response,” Zelensky said on Facebook.

On Sunday, Zelensky said Russia had used the peace process to “do everything possible” to regain full control of eastern Ukraine, something he said “they haven’t been able to do yet” on the battlefield.

He stressed that Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be respected.

“We are fighting for our country—for our what. We are not fighting on foreign soil. What question can there be for us?” The Ukrainian president said.

The US has pressed Ukraine for territorial concessions, which Trump has pitched as a necessary trade-off to reach a peace deal with Russia.

Zelensky acknowledged that a compromise was needed to find common ground between the two “fundamentally different positions.”

“This is the first step towards finding more agreement,” he added. “But for an agreement, all parties must be willing to compromise. Incidentally, that includes the American side.”

CNN’s Christian Edwards, Ivana Kottasova, and Kit Maher contributed to this report.

Create an account at CNN.com for more CNN news and newsletters