Talks in Abu Dhabi: Witkoff and Kushner Will Work on the Territorial Issue

On November 10, trilateral consultations between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia began in Abu Dhabi, with Washington acting as mediator. The U.S. side plans to develop possible solutions, which U.S. representatives will subsequently discuss in person with the presidents of Ukraine and Russia—Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.

The White House is “cautiously optimistic” about the resumption of trilateral contacts.

One senior official noted that following the consultations in the United Arab Emirates, the negotiators may travel to Kyiv and Moscow to hold face-to-face meetings with Zelenskyy and Putin.

Over the past two weeks, the U.S. team has been in contact with both sides almost daily. The meetings, scheduled for November 10–11, are expected to take place along two separate tracks.

The first track of the negotiations will be coordinated by a military working group led by General Aleksus Grinkevich, commander of U.S. European Command.

Members of this group will focus on developing mechanisms to monitor a ceasefire after the war ends, as well as on security arrangements.

According to Axios, it was on this issue that the parties made the most progress during the previous round of consultations in February.

The second, political track of the negotiations will address one of the most complex issues—territory. It will be handled by U.S. Special Presidential Representative Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Kyiv’s and Moscow’s positions on this issue remain fundamentally different. Russia continues to insist on establishing control over the entire territory of Donbas, while Ukraine is prepared to consider a cessation of hostilities along the current front line without legally recognizing the occupation.

Thus, during the consultations in Abu Dhabi, the U.S. side plans to work both on issues related to a future ceasefire and security guarantees, as well as on finding possible solutions to the territorial disputes between Ukraine and Russia.

This was reported by Axios, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

Representatives of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the United States, and NATO emphasized during the meeting in Abu Dhabi that any future peace agreements must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its right to make decisions independently. In addition, the agreement must provide reliable security guarantees for our country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, during which they discussed the trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi. Zelenskyy emphasized that Russia must also demonstrate a willingness to de-escalate the conflict and achieve genuine peace.

Ukrainian representatives arrived in Abu Dhabi on November 10, where talks involving Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia are set to take place. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:50 a.m.

During the first round of talks in Abu Dhabi, the U.S., Ukraine, and European partners coordinated their approaches to ending the war. U.S. Special Representative Steve Witkoff stated that key topics included security guarantees for Ukraine, NATO’s role, and the future security architecture in Europe.