David Arahamia, leader of the Servant of the People faction, commented on the progress of the trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, the US, and Russia in Abu Dhabi, describing them as "tough." According to him, the Russian delegation arrived at the meetings with "very strict directives," making it difficult to soften the discussion. He made these remarks while speaking with journalists, commenting on the outcomes of the second day of negotiations held on November 11.

Why the Discussion Was Hard to Soften

"The Russians arrived with very tough directives, so it was difficult to soften the discussion," Arahamia noted. At the same time, he emphasized that the format of discussing the post-war future of both countries helped establish a dialogue and allowed the parties to start working more productively. Earlier, before the start of the meetings, the MP noted that after a long pause, the very resumption of the negotiation process could already be considered an achievement, and the Ukrainian side did not expect significant breakthroughs from the first round, placing its main hopes on the second stage.

Transition to a Multilateral Format

Arahamia also pointed to the shift from a trilateral to a multilateral negotiation format. "European countries must be at the negotiating table. If we are talking about the post-war security of Europe, Ukraine is a part of it, therefore European countries must discuss with us what security in Europe will look like," he stressed. Thus, Kyiv is effectively declaring its intention to expand the circle of participants in the discussion on security guarantees.

Appeal to US Special Envoys

Separately, Arahamia appealed to US President's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner ahead of their visit to Russia. "I urge you to visit Moscow and then return to us in Dublin to hold the second round of meetings. It is important to agree on and announce the date of the next meeting as soon as possible, because now we have a good opportunity to find a solution before the New Year," the faction leader stated. He also reported "significant progress" on a number of other issues which, according to him, cannot yet be discussed publicly.

Outcomes of the Second Day and Prisoner Exchange

On November 11, the second day of trilateral negotiations on conflict resolution took place in Abu Dhabi. As a result, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations reportedly reached an agreement to conduct a large-scale prisoner of war exchange. The meetings of representatives of the three countries took place on November 10–11 after a nine-month pause; the main topics announced were security guarantees, de-escalation, and humanitarian issues.

What's Next

Immediately after the end of the second day of talks, on November 12, Witkoff and Kushner plan to travel to Moscow, where they are scheduled to meet with Vladimir Putin. According to Arahamia, the Ukrainian side is interested in having the US special envoys return for further consultations after this visit, which, in his estimation, will make it possible to use the current window of opportunity to advance toward a solution before the end of the year.