Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 23 October that talks between teams from Ukraine, the United States and Russia would take place in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of next month. He did not name a specific date, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper reports.
Asked by journalists whether Europe could join the talks, Peskov said nothing could be ruled out. However, only three parties are expected to take part in the planned negotiations.
“Nothing can be ruled out a priori. But these talks we are referring to will be in a trilateral format,” he said.
According to the Kremlin press secretary, Vladimir Putin has tasked Russia’s negotiators with discussing security issues for Russia and Ukraine in the period after efforts to settle the war begin.
- An agreement on a trilateral meeting at the level of technical teams was reached during a visit by US negotiator Steve Witkoff to St Petersburg this week. The proposal to resume trilateral talks was conveyed by Ukraine. Witkoff took the proposal to Russia, and following the talks Moscow signalled its readiness. Despite this, just a few hours after the negotiations ended, it carried out a new ballistic attack on Kyiv and struck other regions with drones.
- Ukraine, Russia and the United States held trilateral talks last year and in the winter of 2026. The meetings stopped after the US shifted its focus to the war against Iran. Ukraine insisted on the need for talks with the prospect of a leaders’ level meeting.
- In previous rounds, the sides worked on a plan to end the war, but they were unable to agree on all points. Russia is demanding that Ukraine hand over the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Crimea, and the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukraine is demanding that a settlement begin along the current lines, without the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army.