Mike Baker

That has been, to be fair, the history of any discussions around Putin's four year war in Ukraine, optimism and hope in the face of little actual progress.

Over two days, delegations from Washington, Moscow and Kyiv met for talks hosted by the UAE.

Political and military officials were all involved, and the focus, according to Ukrainian officials, was on possible parameters for ending the war.

Ukrainian President Zelensky said the delegations agreed to head back to their capitals and coordinate next steps, adding that follow-up meetings could take place as early as the beginning of February.

From Kyiv's perspective, this wasn't about producing a deal on the spot.

It was about keeping the format intact, keeping the U.S.

actively involved, and keeping talks from stalling out entirely.

From Washington's side, officials close to the talks described the meetings as a new phase of constructive U.S.

mediation.

Advisors to President Trump came away sounding cautiously optimistic, saying the talks helped narrow gaps on the biggest sticking point, which, of course, is territorial control of eastern Ukraine.

It's worth pausing there because progress in this context doesn't mean a possible solution.

It means positions that have been frozen for months, particularly on the Kremlin side, are at least being tested again.

U.S.

officials say it took months of quiet diplomacy to get Moscow and Kiev to agree to a trilateral format under American mediation.

The talks began on Friday and continued through Saturday.

At times, U.S.

mediators sat in joint sessions with both sides, and at other moments, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met directly without the Americans in the room.

As for the negotiation teams, the U.S.

delegation included, well, Trump advisors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and the commander of U.S.

European Command, General Grinkwich.