Negotiations in Abu Dhabi: What Will Be Discussed on the Second Day and What Outcomes Are Expected

On Wednesday, November 11, the second day of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia on resolving the war will take place in Abu Dhabi (the capital of the UAE). The parties plan to discuss a possible ceasefire, energy issues, and security in the Black Sea.

According to sources at RBC-Ukraine, the second day of talks will focus primarily on a possible ceasefire, energy issues, and security in the Black Sea.

According to Russian media reports, the meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Kyiv time.

Meanwhile, Western media have reported that following the talks in Abu Dhabi, U.S. presidential representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may travel to Moscow and subsequently to Kyiv.

The first day of talks took place on Tuesday, November 10. The meeting lasted about 4.5 hours. Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue their work the next day.

There were no detailed official comments directly from the meeting participants. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the talks as constructive and quite substantive, although he noted that reaching an agreement with the Russians is difficult. He also reported that he had received a report from the Ukrainian negotiating team.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who did not participate in the meeting, also described the talks as very productive but emphasized that much work still lies ahead.

Among the American representatives, Jared Kushner spoke to the press. According to him, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is “ready for peace under the right conditions.”

The main topics of the first day were the future security architecture and security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe, and Russia.

The parties also discussed the possibility of a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, options for an exchange in the “1,000 for 1,000” or “1,500 for 1,500” format were considered.

Separately, the Russian delegation raised the issue of territorial claims. The Ukrainian president emphasized that such issues should be discussed at the level of heads of state.

According to RBC-Ukraine, Russian representatives also mentioned Moscow’s proposals to change the European security architecture, which Vladimir Putin had put forward during talks with then-U.S. President Joe Biden in December 2021.

At that time, the Kremlin demanded, in particular, a halt to further NATO expansion, a reduction in the military presence of allies in countries that joined the Alliance after 1997, and restrictions on military cooperation with post-Soviet states outside NATO, specifically Ukraine.

According to the publication’s source, the Russian side linked the start of the war to the fact that the Joe Biden administration did not agree to these demands. At the same time, U.S. representatives sought to determine exactly what Moscow feared and why it needed security guarantees.

On the first day of the talks, even before the trilateral meeting began, the Ukrainian delegation held separate consultations with representatives of the U.S., the EU, NATO, and European countries. The goal was to coordinate common positions with partners.

Representatives of the E4 format—the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy—as well as the European Union and NATO participated in the coordination meetings.

Specifically, the United Kingdom was represented by National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell; Germany by the Chancellor’s Advisor on Foreign Policy, Günter Sautter; France by Emmanuel Bonn, Diplomatic Advisor to the President; and Italy by Fabrizio Saggio, Advisor to the Prime Minister.

From the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen’s Chief of Staff, Björn Seibert, and Anna-Maria Bura, Advisor to the President of the European Council, joined the consultations. NATO was represented by Jeffrey van Leuven, Director of the Office of the Secretary General.

Following consultations with partners, trilateral talks took place involving the Ukrainian, American, and Russian delegations.

However, the question of the full participation of European representatives in the negotiation process with Russia remains open.

According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Europe must decide by the end of November who will represent it in negotiations to end the war. The president emphasized that it would be desirable to make this decision during the meeting of the coalition of willing nations in Germany on November 19.

At the same time, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has refused to represent Europe in negotiations with Russia. In her view, it is European institutions that should participate in these talks.

Moscow, for its part, opposes involving the European Union in the negotiations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Europeans allegedly “are only trying to buy time for Ukraine” and suggested that they “stay at a hotel” in Abu Dhabi.

The United States, however, according to Politico, is insisting that the EU be given a seat at the negotiating table. Finnish President Alexander Stubb was previously mentioned as a possible candidate for the role of European representative. Shortly before the talks, he and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Støre spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin.

The Ukrainian delegation is led by Rustem Umerov, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. Its members also include:

• Kirill Budanov, head of the Office of the President;
• David Arakhamia, head of the “Servant of the People” parliamentary faction;
• Serhiy Kyslytsia, First Deputy Head of the Office of the President;
• Vadym Skibitsky, Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate.

The U.S. side is represented by U.S. President Steve Witkoff’s special envoy and Donald Trump’s son-in-law, as well as his special envoy Jared Kushner.

The Russian delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Vladimir Putin. Its members also include:

• Igor Kostyukov, head of the GRU;
• Yuri Zhigalovsky and Alexander Zorin, representatives of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces;
• FSB representatives Dmitry Minaev and Alexei Komkov;
• Deputy Foreign Ministers Mikhail Galuzin and Sergey Ryabkov, and other officials.

Moscow is attempting to turn the negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine into a discussion of a new European security architecture. The Kremlin seeks to return to the demands made by the U.S. and NATO back in 2021, particularly regarding the reduction of the Alliance’s military presence in Europe.

As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy heard a report from the Ukrainian negotiating team on the results of the first day of consultations in Abu Dhabi (UAE) on November 10. The negotiation process began with consultations with European and American partners, followed by a trilateral meeting involving delegations from Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia.

During the talks in Abu Dhabi, Ukraine raised the issue of a large-scale prisoner exchange with Russia. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the parties discussed options for an exchange on a “1,000 for 1,000” or even “1,500 for 1,500” basis. No final agreements have been reached yet, but the U.S. delegation plans to raise this issue during its next contacts with the Russian side.