Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago3 min read
MapRussia, Ukraine, and U.S. Begin Trilateral Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi Under U.S. Mediation
14 Western Mainstream6 West Asian2 Western Alternative3 Other source typesMap: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Three-way Russia-Ukraine-US talks opened in Abu Dhabi, with Washington mediating. First trilateral meeting since February, scheduled over two days to discuss security guarantees.
Save coverage image
25 outlets in this story. Read their headlines below.
Abu Dhabi Trilateral Talks
Russia, Ukraine and the United States began trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi this Tuesday under US mediation, with Rustem Umerov confirming that the agenda includes key issues on a ceasefire and a move toward peace. Umerov said, "We are working in line with the tasks set by the President of Ukraine (Volodimir Zelenski)," and he added that Ukraine’s fundamental priorities include the ceasefire, reliable security guarantees for the postwar period, economic recovery and Ukraine’s development, and humanitarian measures. Sergei Lavrov said before the trilateral talks that they would address "issues aimed at ensuring regional collective security," as well as "guarantees that will apply once a total and thorough agreement is reached."
The ABC report said the talks followed a sequence that included a summit recently held in Oslo and the subsequent move to Saint Petersburg of the United States’ envoy, Steve Witkoff, to handle the process, while Alexander Stubb and Jonas Gahr Store spoke by telephone with Vladimir Putin in late October. The ABC report said the meeting was the first such meeting since February, and it placed the start of contacts amid international efforts to unblock negotiations and move toward a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow.
Delegations, Sidelines, and First Day
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff led the U.S. delegation in Abu Dhabi this week, and the ABC report said the talks were the latest round of trilateral peace talks after 1,721 days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Umerov led Kyiv’s delegation, and ABC said the Ukrainian delegation included Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Zelenskyy's office, and Davyd Arakhamia, the head of Zelenskyy's party in the Ukrainian parliament. Vladimir Medinsky led the Russian delegation, and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Yuri Ushakov, the head of Russia's foreign military intelligence agency, Igor Kostyukov, and Sergei Ryabkov, the deputy foreign minister, were also attending.
The first day of the trilateral talks concluded after four hour-long discussions and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who did not attend, said they had been "very productive." Lavrov said, "We will not agree to it," in response to a truce that Moscow said would allow Kyiv to regroup.
Security Guarantees and No Breakthrough
US officials expected low odds for a breakthrough that ends Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine, while the officials said Moscow and Kyiv were privately showing "a little bit of flexibility" on who would control Ukraine's eastern regions in a postwar scenario. Lavrov said a truce would just allow Kyiv to regroup, and it also described a key disagreement over Donetsk, where Moscow demanded Ukraine relinquish parts it still holds while Kyiv wanted to freeze the contact line. The officials floated a new "security architecture" and discussed reciprocal de-escalation measures, security consultations and crisis communications hotlines, and the re-activation of the Nato-Russia Council that has been largely paused since 2022.
Russia launched 162 drones of various types and a ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight, and Russia attacked 10 Ukrainian regions overnight, hitting five major energy substations that transmit electricity between regions. Russia’s Ministry of Defence stated its forces shot down 155 Ukrainian drones overnight above eight Russian regions, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, underscoring that the talks opened while strikes continued.