First day of US-Russia-Ukraine talks ends in Abu Dhabi

The first day of three-way talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, aimed at discussing an end to the war Russia started in Ukraine, ended on 10 November in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Representatives of the parties say the first round lasted roughly four hours, and the negotiations will resume on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as reported by Reuters, described the opening day as very productive. He noted that much work remains, including bringing European representatives into the talks, as they are not officially taking part at present. Rubio himself is in Paris, where a meeting of G7 foreign ministers is under way.

Who is taking part

The US side in Abu Dhabi is represented by envoys of President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Russian delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, while the Ukrainian delegation is headed by Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service. Umerov confirmed that participants have received authority from President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss all issues linked to ending the war. Medinsky had earlier voiced hope that the meeting would help move along the path to peace.

What was discussed

An independent source close to the Ukrainian delegation told the online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda that the sides discussed security guarantees, Russia's demands and questions about the post-war future. According to the source, Ukraine's main position is that the war must first be halted, and only then can the work begin on building a new European security architecture that provides lasting stability and prevents aggression from happening again.

The European role

Before the three-way talks began, the US and Ukrainian delegations met national security advisers from the United Kingdom, Germany and France, as well as representatives of NATO and the European Commission. European representatives are not part of the three-way negotiations because the Kremlin objected to their participation.

The participants did not issue any official statements on the results of the first day.