The Kremlin has confirmed that Russia, Ukraine and the United States will hold trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi from November 10 to 11, according to the Straits Times. The Kremlin confirmed the plans on Tuesday. The Abu Dhabi Ukraine peace talks would be the first US-mediated round since February.
Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin, will serve as Moscow’s chief negotiator, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as reported by the Straits Times. A senior US official told Reuters that envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to represent the United States in Abu Dhabi, according to the Moscow Times.
Witkoff said the talks would focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and next steps toward peace, according to the Moscow Times. The Straits Times reported that he said the talks would discuss post-war security agreements and de-escalation.
The last US-mediated talks took place in February, before the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, according to the Straits Times. Witkoff met Putin in St. Petersburg last month to restart talks. Russian officials then said a new round of trilateral talks would take place in Abu Dhabi in November.
The central disagreement remains territory. Putin continues to demand that Ukraine cede full control of the partially occupied Donetsk region as a prerequisite for any ceasefire, a condition Kyiv has repeatedly rejected, according to the Moscow Times. The same outlet reports that Ukraine and Russia remain far apart on territorial questions and on post-war security guarantees.
Axios reports that US officials say the meeting results from talks Witkoff and Kushner held with Zelensky and Putin in recent weeks, and that the White House hopes Putin will be more willing to deal. The Axios item is a headline and short excerpt only, so its full context could not be verified.
Witkoff also plans meetings in Brussels this week with European and NATO representatives on Ukraine security guarantees. No details have been given on what those meetings will produce.
The sources do not include any response from Ukraine or from Zelensky’s office to the announced talks. The Moscow Times gives the timing as "next Tuesday and Wednesday" without dates, and the November 10-11 dates come from Reuters and Axios. Several key details also rest on a single outlet, and no agenda outcomes have been reported.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.