Russia, Ukraine and US to hold November talks in Abu Dhabi

Moscow — Russia and Ukraine have confirmed that trilateral talks with the United States are planned for the first half of November in Abu Dhabi, the first such negotiations since US-brokered meetings stalled at the start of the year.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the next round "planned for the first half of November in Abu Dhabi" would "take place in a trilateral format", according to The Hindu. The announcement followed a meeting in St Petersburg this week between President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who had earlier met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo.

Zelenskyy said technical negotiations should start "as early as possible", though he warned much depended on Russia, Al Jazeera reported. Moscow has suggested a date "around November 10", per Africanews. Putin said any talks should cover the security arrangements of a final peace deal, not a "short" truce. Zelenskyy wants strong security guarantees, a decade of funding for Ukraine's army and Europe at the table.

Money is doing much of the talking. The Trump administration has eased sanctions on Moscow and agreed to buy 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel; Moscow says the first shipment is on its way to New York. Trump is also under domestic pressure: energy prices pushed up by the US war on Iran have dented his support ahead of midterm elections. European leaders argue the diesel deal gives Russia "hope" and makes peace harder. That is the mechanism to watch — cheaper access to energy markets is Moscow's incentive to negotiate, and Washington's leverage.

The backdrop remains grim. Ukraine's acting prosecutor general says more than 19,000 civilians have been killed since February 2022. Yet the two sides still trade prisoners, exchanging 270 each on Friday — the rare channel that has stayed open since the full-scale invasion, and the model behind the localised ceasefire the White House says Melania Trump brokered in Oleshky.

Expectations are low: earlier rounds failed over Russia's demands for territory and a NATO ban on Ukraine. The test comes in the first half of November — whether delegations actually arrive in Abu Dhabi, and whether the diesel shipment reaches New York on schedule.