Abu Dhabi Hosts First US-Led Russia-Ukraine Talks Since February as Europe Seeks a Seat

The round puts the UAE capital back at the centre of the diplomacy. It hosted the trilateral meetings in January and February that produced a prisoner exchange but no breakthrough on the main issues. The process then stalled after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to resume talks after meeting Witkoff in St Petersburg in October. When he announced the round on November 3, Witkoff said the discussions would cover "post-war security agreements, de-escalation, humanitarian measures, and ending the war."

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, President Donald Trump said Washington saw a very strong desire on both sides to end the fighting and that the two countries were tired of the war. He said he expected very good talks in Abu Dhabi.

According to an account of a briefing published by Al Bayan, a US official told reporters on Monday that Russia and Ukraine had privately shown some flexibility over a possible exchange of territory. The official said security guarantees for Ukraine would be among the main topics, including the possibility of giving Kyiv defence arrangements modelled on Article 5 of the NATO treaty. Any agreement on territory would probably come in the final stages, the official said, after other issues such as post-war security had been settled. Witkoff and Kushner may travel to Russia after the talks to meet Putin. The official described the US side as cautiously optimistic but said the negotiations would take time.

Territory remains the hardest issue. Ukraine wants Russian forces to pull back to the original border, while Putin wants all of the Donbas region. Russian forces hold about 20% of Ukraine, and the 1,200-kilometre front line has barely moved for months. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said battlefield gains and mounting Russian losses had strengthened Kyiv's hand.

Relations between Kyiv and Washington have been strained in recent weeks. Trump angered Zelensky by buying Russian diesel, suspending some sanctions and asking Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries. He has also called for Zelensky to be replaced. Under the diesel arrangement Trump announced on October 9, Russia agreed to ship 300,000 tonnes, or 2.25 million barrels, to US and world markets straight away, then 500,000 tonnes in November and 1 million tonnes after that. Washington temporarily lifted US sanctions on Russian fuel to make the shipments possible.

In an article published in Kommersant on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the diesel deal was already bringing prices down, although he gave no figures. US diesel futures have fallen by about 11% since the deal was announced. But the GasBuddy price tracker said US pump prices hit a record last week, as Americans voted in the midterms. Lavrov also accused Ukraine of ignoring Trump's calls to stop hitting Russian energy sites. Russian media reported fuel shortages in at least six regions after Ukrainian attacks on at least eight major refineries over the past two weeks.

European governments, which are not at the table in Abu Dhabi, used a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Paris on Monday to press US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a role. "Europe belongs at this table. There can be no solution without Europe – only with Europe," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said after talks with Rubio. He said the Abu Dhabi round must show whether Russia was "genuinely prepared to negotiate", urged Moscow to "give up maximalist demands" and warned against a "negotiation show" in the Emirati capital. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, South Korea and Brazil also sent ministers to the Paris meeting.

Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, is due to join a Paris session on Ukraine on Tuesday, the day the Abu Dhabi talks open. "No one has the right to decide our fate behind our backs," he said before leaving for the meeting.