Kyiv moves to accelerate Abu Dhabi peace talks with Russia by one week

Ukrainian negotiators are attempting to move the start date of the next trilateral peace talks with Russia and the United States forward by at least one week. The new round of meetings is currently scheduled to begin in Abu Dhabi on November 10, following the US congressional midterm elections. Kyiv, in coordination with Washington, is working to convince Moscow to agree to an earlier start date. As of the evening of October 25, officials had not yet received final confirmation of a date change from the Russian side.

A source within President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s team cited the urgency of the winter season as a primary driver for the timeline shift. The official noted that in December, every week becomes critical for residents who lack power, water, or heating. The Ukrainian delegation does not expect the first meeting to produce a breakthrough agreement. Instead, team members anticipate that substantive work will require at least several rounds of discussion. A member of Zelenskyy’s team who has participated in previous negotiations predicted that the initial meeting would allow new delegations to adjust to one another. Substantive work is expected to begin at the second meeting, with potential decisions emerging by the third.

Ukraine is also pushing to include an European Union representative in the talks, a move that faces opposition from both Moscow and Washington. A source close to the negotiation team stated that Russian officials do not want Europeans seated at the table during the first meeting. However, the Ukrainian team intends to bring them along to brief them in real time in Abu Dhabi. The source noted that EU envoys currently lack a designated representative with a mandate to make decisions, leaving them in a signal-receiving mode. Björn Seibert, the head of cabinet for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has emerged as a likely EU representative over the last two meetings.

Regarding the substance of the negotiations, Kyiv proposes focusing on the broader shape of peace rather than immediately assigning specific villages. A source close to the team explained that the goal is to present a picture of how the region will look and how Ukraine will be protected, including the nature of cooperation with NATO. The source added that trust in US President Donald Trump in Ukraine is only 6% higher than trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin, meaning Ukrainians will not rely solely on US assurances. Davyd Arakhamiia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, told US officials that the final peace configuration must be acceptable to residents of Kharkiv and Dnipro. He argued that if residents of those regions accept the formula, it would represent genuine progress.

Background information indicates that US government sources had previously suggested the next round of talks could take place in either Abu Dhabi or Switzerland. Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian leader, stated that Russia is ready to resume trilateral negotiations after November 4. Zelenskyy has previously said that Ukraine will not agree to limits on its Armed Forces size or to neutral status as part of any potential peace deal.