MOSCOW: Ukrainian, US and Russian officials will hold security talks in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, the Kremlin said, following a meeting of top US negotiators with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on a US-drafted plan to end the Ukraine war.

Diplomatic efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have gained pace in recent months, though Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over the key issue of territory in a post-war settlement.

US negotiators, led by envoy Steve Witkoff, talked with the Russian leader in Moscow into the early hours of Friday, according to a Kremlin statement.

Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters their discussions had been “useful in every respect.”

Witkoff and the US team are next flying to Abu Dhabi, where talks are expected to continue.