Axios: The US allows for a quick meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

      The Washington administration believes that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky may take place soon. Such an event is possible if there is progress in the upcoming trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi. Axios reports this, citing an American official. The source added that "we are very close to a meeting" between Putin and Zelensky. As the source clarified, if the next round of trilateral negotiations is more progressive, further meetings of the delegations may take place in Moscow or Kyiv. "We believe that these meetings should occur before the leaders meet. We do not think we are far from this. If we continue on the current path, we will reach this outcome," he said. The negotiations on resolving the Ukrainian conflict concerned the territories of Donbas, the status of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), as well as the steps necessary for de-escalation, the American official reported. An unnamed American official also noted that the participants in the trilateral talks "were genuinely seeking solutions" to resolve the conflict. According to him, at one point, the negotiating parties "looked almost like friends." Thus, at the end of the second day of negotiations, the participants from the three delegations sat together for a joint lunch, the source claims. "There was a moment when everyone looked almost like friends. I had hope," he said. However, according to him, it is still too early to judge whether Putin will "give his negotiators the authority to conclude a deal." At the same time, The Times, citing a Russian diplomat, reports that Moscow allegedly had to agree with Washington's position on territorial issues during the trilateral negotiations. "We hoped to first get some commitment on territorial concessions. But in the end, we just had to agree with the Americans," the source said after the first day of negotiations in Abu Dhabi. The day before, the second round of trilateral negotiations concluded in Abu Dhabi. They lasted three hours. It was noted that the territorial issue remains the most complex in the trilateral negotiations. "For Russia, the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Donbas is important, and various security parameters are being considered for this," the TASS source indicated. The first trilateral meeting of the delegations of Russia, the USA, and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi concluded on Friday evening. The media reported that the negotiations were productive. The initial rounds of the meeting, dedicated to security issues, were held in a highly closed format. It was reported that the topics of discussion also included the creation of buffer zones and various control mechanisms.

      The next round of negotiations involving representatives from the USA, Russia, and Ukraine may take place on February 1 in Abu Dhabi, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed American official.