US to mediate Ukraine–Russia working-level talks in Abu Dhabi on 10–11 November, envoy Witkoff announces
US envoy Steve Witkoff says Washington will mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on 10–11 November, focused on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation and humanitarian steps.
The United States will mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November, US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Monday, in a renewed diplomatic push to end a war that has now lasted well beyond four years. Witkoff said in a post on X that Washington would host the discussions with the aim of advancing President Donald Trump's mission to end the war. The talks, he said, would focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and the next steps towards a peace agreement. The announcement gives a date and a place to an effort that had, until now, been described only in general terms. It also sets a clear sequence: working-level talks first, with the hope that technical progress can prepare the ground for a higher-level meeting later. American negotiators are also expected to meet this week in Brussels with representatives from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO. That meeting, Witkoff said, would cover security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe's post-war security architecture and economic opportunities to support Ukraine's reconstruction. Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the lead US negotiators, are expected to represent the United States in Abu Dhabi, according to a senior US official cited by Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a new round of trilateral talks after meeting Witkoff in St Petersburg two weeks ago, the report said. Witkoff said Washington intended to build on progress made during previous engagements in Kyiv, Oslo and St Petersburg, expressing hope for a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement that delivers security for generations to come. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that one or two rounds of technical talks could pave the way for a trilateral summit involving himself, Trump and Putin. According to Kyiv, the technical agenda could include a possible energy and maritime ceasefire, exchanges of military and civilian captives, and the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia. The announcement comes at a difficult moment on the battlefield. Russian strikes on a school used for humanitarian aid distribution in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 26 people on Monday, a reminder that diplomacy is being attempted while fighting continues. Neither side has suggested that the Abu Dhabi meeting itself will produce a ceasefire. There are also reasons for caution about what the talks can achieve. The two sides remain far apart on territory, on the shape of any security guarantees for Ukraine and on the sequencing of a settlement. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed uncertainty at a G20 foreign ministers' meeting on 31 October about whether a negotiated deal was possible at all. The last US-mediated peace talks took place in February, before the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran. Since then, the diplomatic track on Ukraine has largely run through separate meetings rather than direct trilateral sessions. What happens next is therefore fairly concrete. The Brussels consultations come first, later this week, followed by the Abu Dhabi working-level talks on 10 and 11 November. A verified humanitarian step, or an agreed negotiating framework, would count as real progress. A joint photograph or a general statement of intent, on its own, would not.Advertisement · Google AdSense 728×90 / 320×100
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