For two days, the capital of the United Arab Emirates becomes the focal point of diplomacy over the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian, Russian and American delegations are meeting in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, 2026, with the United States acting as mediator. These are the first direct three-way talks since February.
Abu Dhabi has played this role before. Earlier this year, the three sides held two rounds in the Emirati city, in January and again in February, followed by a session in Geneva, without reaching an agreement. The process then stalled: the last US-mediated talks took place in February, just before the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran.
According to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, the agenda centres on security, de-escalation and assistance to people caught up in the conflict. Post-war security arrangements are also expected to feature prominently.
Kyiv has sent a heavyweight team. Rustem Umierov, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, is joined by Kyrylo Budanov, head of the President’s Office, Serhii Kyslytsia, Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of military intelligence, and Davyd Arakhamiia, who leads the Servant of the People faction in parliament. Before leaving, Umierov thanked the UAE for hosting the talks, as well as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for their preparatory work. On the Russian side, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky heads the delegation.
Europe will not be absent. Representatives of the European Commission, the European Council, Germany, France and the United Kingdom are attending at security adviser level, along with the chief of staff to NATO’s secretary general. Britain’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, was already in the Emirates a few days before the talks opened.
What this new round can achieve remains an open question. Volodymyr Zelensky insists that any deal must give Ukraine reliable security guarantees and fund its armed forces for ten years. Moscow, for its part, has not dropped its demands, which include Ukraine handing over large parts of its territory and giving up any prospect of NATO membership. Adding to the strain, relations between Kyiv and parts of the Trump administration have soured, with Washington criticising Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
The Ukrainian president nonetheless sees this technical meeting as a possible step towards talks at leaders’ level. First signals on the tone of the discussions are expected later today.