'Beyond this delegation's capacity': diplomat doubts Abu Dhabi talks can produce ceasefire

Dmytro Dovhopolyi, a candidate of historical sciences, Americanist, and UN employee (1987-2019), stated this on Espreso.

"When there's nothing to say, they say 'constructive,' or when you need to say nothing, they say 'constructive.' Or they also say 'positive,' 'in the spirit of mutual understanding' — well, some meaningless formulas. Well, let's look at the possible outcomes. First is a peace agreement. Absolutely impossible. Yesterday it was, well, we're not even halfway there. A truce with a ceasefire — that would be a wonderful result. That's the first prize for me," he noted.

Dmytro Dovhopolyi believes that among the outcomes of the Abu Dhabi meeting on January 15, a ceasefire agreement is impossible.

"It seems to me that among the possible outcomes of yesterday's meeting, an agreement is impossible. Some kind of ceasefire — that would be wonderful, but it's not within the class of the delegation, not within the format of the delegation. Although I liked that Budanov was leading. That was a good signal. A very good signal for the Americans. The third possibility surprised me, surprised me. Suddenly a possibility emerged that this meeting brings us closer to a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. Well, listen, that's not what we agreed to. So what, this war is about Zelenskyy meeting with Putin again? What would they discuss? And what would that mean politically? We already had a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, or Zelenskyy and Putin, to stop this war. That didn't happen. And so it goes, one small inaccuracy after another small inaccuracy, and it all adds up to a crystallization of the process beginning. It seems to me that on February 1 they'll meet, there will be some talks, negotiations. And this will all move to a more structured level, where some working groups will be created to deal with things. Because today Zelenskyy was already backpedaling, saying listen, we weren't just dealing with territories, and it turns out there's a whole range of political issues. Ha-ha, it turns out there's a whole range of political issues and we'll be dealing with political issues. But we knew they hadn't gone anywhere. And they need to be resolved. That's what I think it will be about," he added.

• The trilateral discussions in the UAE took place on January 23 and 24, 2026.