Talks between officials from the United States, Ukraine, and Russia began on Friday in Abu Dhabi, marking the first trilateral meeting involving all three countries that has been publicly acknowledged since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke to CNN.

As the same source told the network, the talks are being held in the United Arab Emirates and are part of intensified diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement that could lead to an end to the war. This is the first time representatives from Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow have sat at the same table since the Russian invasion three years ago. At the center of the discussions is the territorial issue in Ukraine, as indicated both by statements from Zelensky and by comments from advisers to Putin.

The Abu Dhabi talks are taking place in the wake of a lengthy meeting late Thursday night in Moscow between U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting lasted approximately four hours.

Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks with Trump’s envoys as “extremely substantive, constructive and, I would say, exceptionally frank and confidential.” At the same time, however, he warned that “without resolving the territorial issue, one should not expect a long-term settlement to be achieved.”

Ushakov added that Russia will continue to pursue its objectives “on the battlefield, where the Russian armed forces maintain the strategic initiative,” until an agreement is reached. This statement reflects Moscow’s firm position that the territorial issue is the central pillar of any future agreement.

Heading the Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi is the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Russian Armed Forces, Admiral Igor Olegovich Kostyukov. On the Ukrainian side, the delegation includes, among others, the deputy head of the Presidential Office and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andrii Hnatov.

A few hours before departing for Moscow, Steve Witkoff had stated that the negotiations had essentially been narrowed down to a single issue, hinting that an agreement might be close. “I think we have come down to one issue and have discussed different versions of it, and that means it is solvable,” he said on Thursday while speaking at an event in Davos.

Later, a European official confirmed to CNN that the issue Witkoff was referring to is the territorial question, which continues to be the main point of friction between the parties involved and the decisive obstacle to reaching a comprehensive agreement.