The United States, Russia and Ukraine will hold peace talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11 in a bid to reach a breakthrough on a deal to end the war.
Why it’s important: U.S. officials say the meeting to restart a diplomatic effort suspended in February due to the war in Iran was the result of talks President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks.
- The White House hopes Putin will be more willing to compromise after Trump agreed to lift sanctions on Russian diesel sales and took other steps welcomed by Moscow. So far, Putin’s only apparent concession is to agree to the resumption of negotiations.
- The parties remain very far apart, particularly on the territory. The escalation of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and Putin’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire cast doubt on the prospects for progress.
- Zelensky said Monday that Ukraine has intelligence that Russia is planning another massive attack on its energy and logistics facilities on Tuesday “when the world will be watching the U.S. midterm elections.”
Driving the news: Kushner and Witkoff will lead the US delegation for the negotiations in Abu Dhabi.
- “Discussions will focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and next steps toward peace,” Witkoff said in a statement.
- Witkoff added that lower-level U.S. officials will meet this week in Brussels with representatives from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU and NATO to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe’s post-war security architecture and economic opportunities to support Ukraine’s reconstruction.
- “We look forward to building on the progress made in Kyiv, Oslo and St. Petersburg toward a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement that ensures lasting security for generations to come,” Witkoff said.
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