The Kremlin said Tuesday that a Russian delegation will travel to Abu Dhabi next week for U.S.-mediated talks with Ukraine, putting both sides on the calendar for the Trump administration’s latest push to end the war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Russian state media on Tuesday that a Russian delegation will take part in the trilateral talks, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Peskov’s confirmation came less than a day after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced the meeting. “The United States will mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi, advancing President Trump’s mission to end the war,” Witkoff wrote on X Monday, according to Fox News. He added that the “discussions will focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace.”
The United States will mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi, advancing President Trump’s mission to end the war. Discussions will focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps…
— Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) November 2, 2026
Who is going
The U.S. delegation in Abu Dhabi is expected to include Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the Kyiv Post reported, citing a Reuters report. Russia’s team will be led by Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to the Kyiv Independent, which reported that Peskov confirmed Medinsky’s role.
Before the Abu Dhabi round, lower-level American negotiators will meet this week in Brussels with representatives from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO, Witkoff said in his statement, as reported by Fox News. Those talks will cover security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe’s post-war security architecture and economic opportunities to support Ukraine’s reconstruction, according to the statement.
“We look forward to building on the progress made in Kyiv, Oslo, and St. Petersburg toward a comprehensive, durable peace agreement that delivers lasting security for generations to come,” Witkoff said, according to Fox News.
How the talks came together
Zelensky and Putin both expressed willingness to hold negotiations after meeting with Witkoff in Oslo and St. Petersburg, respectively, in October, the Kyiv Independent reported. Putin met Witkoff in St. Petersburg on Oct. 21, and Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said afterward that Moscow was prepared to resume trilateral negotiations around Nov. 10, the Kyiv Post reported.
Zelensky said on Oct. 28 that he had proposed holding talks sooner but agreed to wait until voting in the United States had concluded, according to the Kyiv Post. He has said one or two rounds of technical talks could pave the way for a summit with Trump and Putin, the Kyiv Independent reported.
The Abu Dhabi meeting would follow three earlier rounds this year, two in Abu Dhabi in January and February and one in Geneva in February, according to the Kyiv Post. Those rounds did not produce a comprehensive agreement, though they helped with prisoner exchanges, the outlet reported.
The sticking points
The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected a ceasefire and demanded that Kyiv give up the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk that Russian forces have not captured, while Ukraine has called for a ceasefire along the current front line, the Kyiv Independent reported. The technical agenda could include a possible energy and maritime ceasefire, exchanges of military and civilian captives, and the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia, according to the same report.
No comprehensive peace agreement has been reached, and major disagreements over security arrangements and the future European security architecture remain unresolved, the Kyiv Post reported. The Trump administration is pressing ahead anyway: the Brussels meetings with European allies this week are meant to line up security guarantees and reconstruction support before the parties sit down, according to Witkoff’s statement as reported by Fox News.
For now, the administration has what it has been working toward for weeks: Moscow and Kyiv both committed to sitting down at a table the United States is hosting.
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- Original post: Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) on X, Nov 2, 2026
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