Germany keeping expectations low on Ukraine-Russia talks

Germany remains cautious regarding the outcome of three-way talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States set to start in the United Arab Emirates later on Friday.

Berlin welcomes the fact that direct talks are being held between Ukraine and Russia again after a long time, deputy government spokesman Steffen Meyer said in Berlin.

Germany has also taken note of progress reported following talks between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he added.

"At the same time, we believe that there are still major questions about the extent to which Russia is prepared to truly back down from its maximum demands," the spokesman said.

Zelensky has said that the peace talks scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday are set to focus on territorial issues.

One major sticking point in the negotiations over an end to the war launched by Moscow in 2022 is Russia's demand that Ukraine surrender the entire Donbass region, including parts that Kiev still controls.

There have been no direct official meetings between the two warring parties for several months, with Istanbul being the most recent venue.

However, Russian and Ukrainian military officials have used Abu Dhabi for informal meetings to discuss the exchange of prisoners of war.

Washington has served as the main mediator between the two sides but the German government highlighted Chancellor Friedrich Merz's efforts over recent months to ensure that a united European, Ukrainian and US position was reached for the talks.

"In this respect, we are not ... in the room, but we are of course very, very closely involved politically through the talks of the past weeks and the ongoing exchange," he said in response to a question why Ukraine's European allies were not represented in Abu Dhabi.