U.S. mediators are preparing to bring Russian and Ukrainian negotiators together in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 10 and 11, for another attempt to end the war in Ukraine. U.S. officials said Monday that security guarantees and disputed territory would be central to the talks. Washington also wants European governments involved in a future stage of negotiations, according to the Associated Press.
The meeting in the United Arab Emirates follows three rounds of U.S.-mediated negotiations earlier this year that produced no major breakthrough. White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leading the American mediation effort. The two sides remain publicly divided over territory, and the discussions will take place as fighting continues, AP and Reuters reported.
An unnamed U.S. official told Reuters that Russian and Ukrainian representatives had privately shown some flexibility over a possible territorial compromise. That is the official's assessment, not an agreement announced by either country. The official said a territorial settlement would probably come only after arrangements for postwar security, including potential guarantees for Ukraine, had been addressed.
European participation is another point of contention. AP reported that the United States hopes to persuade Moscow to include Europe in later negotiations, while the Kremlin says the Abu Dhabi meeting itself remains a three-way discussion among Russia, Ukraine and the United States. Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said European officials would coordinate separately with Kyiv's delegation. Axios reported that NATO, European Union and several European governments had been invited to hold discussions on the sidelines.
The diplomatic effort has not halted attacks. AP reported Monday that Russia struck Ukrainian electrical infrastructure and that a strike on a warehouse in Odesa killed three people, according to local officials. A Ukrainian drone attack also started a fire at an oil refinery near St. Petersburg, according to the regional governor. The continuing strikes underline the difficulties facing negotiators as winter approaches.
U.S. officials expressed cautious optimism but acknowledged that the negotiations could take time, Reuters reported. According to AP and Axios, Witkoff and Kushner may travel to Moscow and Kyiv after the Abu Dhabi meetings if this round makes progress. For now, the immediate test is whether the delegations can narrow their differences over security and territory and establish a path for broader talks.
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