Russia and Ukraine to Resume U.S.-Mediated Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi Next Week

Russia and Ukraine are expected to resume peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 10 and 11. Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to Donald Trump, announced the planned talks on Monday, Nov. 2. The discussions are expected to bring together representatives of Washington, Moscow and Kyiv, though the participants representing Russia and Ukraine have not been identified.

Witkoff said the talks would address “postwar security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and next steps toward peace.” The U.S. is mediating the discussions between the two countries, whose war has continued since 2022.

Before the Abu Dhabi meeting, U.S. negotiators are due to meet this week with representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO. Witkoff said that gathering would focus on a key Ukrainian demand for a final agreement: security guarantees for after the conflict ends.

The planned round would mark the first meeting between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in about nine months. Their previous meeting took place in Switzerland in February. Those discussions were suspended after the United States, which is acting as the main mediator, began its war against Iran.

Last month, a U.S. negotiating team led by Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia and later with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the fighting has continued to cause casualties. On Monday, a Russian bombing of a school in a village in Zaporizhzhia killed 26 people, according to the Ukrainian government.