Russia, Ukraine and US to hold peace talks in Abu Dhabi on 10-11 November

Talks set for Abu Dhabi

Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, announced on 2 November that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will hold talks under US mediation in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on 10 and 11 November. On 3 November the Kremlin confirmed the dates. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a Russian delegation will travel to Abu Dhabi and take part in the trilateral negotiations, which Vladimir Medinsky, an adviser to Vladimir Putin, will lead. On the American side, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald Trump who serves as the government's main negotiator, are expected to represent Washington. The previous trilateral round, held in mid-February in Geneva, ended without progress because both sides kept to their positions in a war that has lasted more than four years.

Agenda and the road back to talks

Witkoff said the discussions will focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and the next steps toward peace. Moscow told Washington in October that it was ready to restart talks that had effectively been suspended since early in the year. About two weeks before the announcement, Putin met Witkoff in St Petersburg and appeared willing to revive the three-way format with Ukraine and the United States. Axios, citing US officials, reported that the White House hopes Putin will be more willing to compromise after Trump agreed to lift sanctions on sales of Russian diesel and took other measures that Moscow welcomed. According to the same report, the only visible concession Putin has made so far is his agreement to resume the talks.

Europe's seat at the table

Before the Abu Dhabi round, American officials are expected to meet in Brussels with representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO. Witkoff said those discussions will cover security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe's post-war security architecture and economic opportunities to support Ukraine's reconstruction. Whether Europeans will sit at the negotiating table itself remains unresolved. Moscow has made clear it wants the initial talks to involve only Russia, Ukraine and the United States, while Kyiv insists that European countries must take part, particularly on future security guarantees. Witkoff also pointed to progress made in Kyiv, Oslo and St Petersburg and said Washington is aiming for a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement.

Strikes and arms funding

The talks open against a backdrop of continued fighting. On 2 November Kyiv said that Russian bombing of a school where humanitarian aid was being distributed had left at least 26 dead. The strikes came as Russian forces resumed bombardment in the Kherson region after a rare local ceasefire that allowed residents of Oleshky, a town the Russian army has captured, to be evacuated. Separately, Bloomberg reported on 2 November, citing people familiar with the matter, that the Trump administration plans to press NATO allies to increase their funding for the weapons delivery programme for Ukraine during November. The report suggests US support for Kyiv continues despite tensions between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.

What comes next

The talks are scheduled for 10 and 11 November in Abu Dhabi. Witkoff said the United States will mediate negotiations at working level between Ukraine and Russia, and framed that effort as advancing Trump's mission to end the war. The sources report no agreed terms so far, so whether the round produces anything beyond the resumption of talks remains open.