The Kremlin said trilateral talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine will resume in Abu Dhabi in November to address postwar security, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky laid out Kyiv’s terms and red lines for the negotiations. Zelensky said technical teams will handle issues such as an energy ceasefire, Black Sea shipping, grain exports and an all-for-all prisoner exchange, while territorial questions can only be addressed at a meeting of national leaders. Kyiv and Washington are seeking to bring the planned talks forward by at least a week, and Ukraine wants European representatives involved alongside the negotiations.
Zelensky said Ukraine will demand a halt to Russian strikes on energy infrastructure and shipping, but will not accept neutrality, limits on its military or ceding territory. He also warned against lifting all sanctions on Moscow before a leaders’ summit, saying it would strip Ukraine and its partners of leverage, and noted that US intelligence sharing on Russian ballistic missile warnings and Starlink access have fully resumed.
The planned Abu Dhabi meeting follows Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov’s announcement that Russia was ready to resume exploratory talks with the US and Ukraine after Nov 4. Separately, Moscow and Beijing have begun preparing for a potential November summit in Shenzhen between Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which Trump has said would focus on nuclear weapons and denuclearization.