US to Bring Russia and Ukraine Back to the Table in Abu Dhabi for First Talks Since February
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to lead trilateral negotiations Nov. 10-11 as Washington makes a fresh push to end the war's fourth year, even as both sides stake out hard lines on what peace should look like.
The United States will convene delegations from Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11 for the first trilateral talks on ending the war since February, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff announced this week.
Witkoff said the agenda will cover post-war security agreements, de-escalation, humanitarian measures and a path to ending the fighting. He and Jared Kushner, the administration's other lead negotiator, are expected to represent the U.S. in the Emirati capital, according to a senior U.S. official cited by Khaleej Times.
It will be the first time all three delegations have sat down together since a round of talks in Geneva in February failed to produce an agreement. Two earlier rounds were also held in Abu Dhabi, in January and February, as the war ground toward its fourth year without a ceasefire.
Both Sides Stake Out Positions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a defiant tone ahead of the meeting, saying Kyiv's path forward "no longer depends on the Russians" and now rests with Washington, according to reporting from the Irish Examiner. Kyiv has separately pushed for a ceasefire, an end to Russian strikes on its energy grid and expanded humanitarian measures as preconditions it wants addressed at the table.
Russia, for its part, wants the session to center on security guarantees for both countries once the war ends, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said, according to the Kyiv Independent. The gap between the two sides' priorities — Ukraine's emphasis on stopping ongoing attacks, Russia's on locking in postwar arrangements — has been a sticking point through every previous round.
POST-WAR SECURITY AGREEMENTS, DE-ESCALATION, HUMANITARIAN MEASURES, AND ENDING THE WAR.
The November date had been in flux for weeks, with some reports initially floating a meeting as early as Nov. 4 before negotiators settled on the Nov. 10-11 window. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv has publicly confirmed the full guest list for next week's session, and officials on both sides cautioned that an announced meeting is no guarantee of a breakthrough — a lesson underscored by the inconclusive Geneva round eight months ago.