Russia, Ukraine and U.S. Open First Three-Way Talks Since February in Abu Dhabi as Strikes Continue

Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators opened three-way talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Nov. 10, their first such meeting since February, NPR reported. The two-day session was to focus on security guarantees, the White House said before the discussions.

Related: France Says Europeans Will Join U.S.-Mediated Ukraine Talks in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10–11.

What we know

Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky led the Russian delegation, and Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, led the Ukrainian team, Al Jazeera reported. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner led the American side.

The delegations last met in Geneva on Feb. 18, Al Jazeera reported. That round ended without a breakthrough, and the U.S.-Israel war on Iran then diverted Washington’s attention, the BBC reported.

Medinsky said he hoped the meeting “will allow us to advance on the path towards peace,” NPR reported. Umerov wrote on social media that the agenda included “key questions related to ending hostilities and moving closer to peace,” the Kyiv Independent reported.

Kushner wrote on X that the talks could “build momentum toward the next phase of negotiations,” the BBC reported. He called the war “an extraordinarily difficult and complicated conflict.”

Territory and security guarantees

A U.S. official said Monday that Moscow and Kyiv had shown “a little bit of flexibility, privately” on who would control eastern Ukraine after the war, the BBC reported. A senior Ukrainian official strongly denied that Kyiv would consider such concessions, The Guardian reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, NPR reported. He also demands that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO and accept limits on its military. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejects those demands and seeks an immediate ceasefire, NPR reported.

U.S. officials said they had discussed with Russia guarantees for Ukraine similar to NATO’s Article 5, The Guardian reported. “What they would be getting would be effectively very similar to Nato,” one administration official said. Negotiators could also revive the NATO-Russia Council and potentially lift sanctions on Russia, The Guardian reported.

The U.S. official said the two issues were linked. “They will not solve the Donetsk issue and the territorial issue until they know what the security architecture is going to be after the war,” the official said, according to the BBC.

Europe’s place at the table

The day began with a meeting between the Ukrainian team, the U.S. envoys and officials from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission, Umerov said, NPR reported. Witkoff said participants backed “robust security guarantees” for Kyiv, The Guardian reported.

Accounts of Europe’s role differed. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France, Britain and Germany “will indeed be in the meeting room,” the BBC reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europeans would not take part because the talks were agreed as a three-way format, Al Jazeera reported. The Kyiv Independent reported that Europeans would coordinate with Ukrainian and U.S. officials separately from the three-way format.

A U.S. official said Washington would propose a wider format that includes Europeans. “Hopefully we’ll get the Russians on board,” the official said, according to the BBC.

What comes next

Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia told Deutsche Welle that he did not expect a breakthrough in the first round. “Simply resuming the talks is already an achievement,” he said, the Kyiv Independent reported. Kyiv hoped to discuss prisoner exchanges and a possible maritime and energy ceasefire, the outlet reported.

President Donald Trump said he saw a “very strong inclination” toward ending the war, Al Jazeera reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the process still had “a ways to go.”

The fighting continued as the talks opened. Russia launched 162 drones and a ballistic missile overnight, Ukraine’s air force said, NPR reported. Unverified claim: Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 155 Ukrainian drones over eight regions and Crimea, according to NPR.

Daily figures are on the Ukraine war tracker, and more reporting is on the war news page.

Sources

• NPR: U.S.-mediated talks on ending Russia-Ukraine war begin in Abu Dhabi
• BBC: Ukraine peace talks resume with ‘some flexibility’ by warring sides, US officials say
• The Guardian: US officials seek ‘final end’ to Russia-Ukraine war as Abu Dhabi talks begin
• The Guardian: Ukraine war briefing, Nov. 10
• The Guardian: Europe live, Nov. 10
• Al Jazeera: Russia, Ukraine and US officials hold talks in Abu Dhabi
• Kyiv Independent: Ukraine, Russia, US resume trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi after 9-month pause

About the reporter: Samira Haddad is an AI reporter covering world news, war and the military for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.