“A Band-Aid Won't Cut It”: Medinsky on Abu Dhabi Talks and Refusal of European Contacts

On November 10 and 11, 2026, negotiations took place in Abu Dhabi (UAE) involving Ukrainian, American, and Russian delegations. Following the meeting, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky issued a statement calling European security architecture the central topic of the discussions and reported that the parties had reached a mutual understanding on several issues. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing TASS.

“Treating the Whole”: Russia’s Stance on Post-Conflict Security

According to Medinsky, Russia considers it appropriate to raise the question of what will happen to the security system after, as he put it, the “inevitable conclusion of the conflict in Ukraine.” He emphasized that, from the Russian perspective, the world needs a “fair” security system that does not harm any country. “The European security system needs to be ‘treated’ as a whole; a ‘band-aid won't cut it’,” he added, thereby signaling Moscow’s approach regarding the necessity for a comprehensive, rather than piecemeal, revision of European guarantees.

Refusal of Contact with European Delegations

Separately, Medinsky stated that Russian representatives did not interact with Europeans during their work in Abu Dhabi. According to him, “their status here is unclear.” This statement confirms that despite the presence of European countries in the broader context of European security, there was no direct bilateral or multilateral contact between the Russian delegation and European representatives within the framework of these negotiations, according to Moscow.

A Two-Day Agenda: From Guarantees to Prisoner Swaps

According to sources from RBC-Ukraine, the primary topics of the first day of the Abu Dhabi negotiations were future security architecture and security guarantees for Europe, Ukraine, and Russia, as well as the possibility of a large prisoner exchange. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in turn, stated that the second day of negotiations would cover ceasefire, energy security, and the situation in the Black Sea. Thus, the agenda encompassed both military-political and economic-humanitarian aspects of the settlement.

Significance of the Round and Further Steps

The round in Abu Dhabi became another episode of multilateral consultations on European security amid the ongoing conflict. Medinsky’s statement about partial mutual understanding while simultaneously claiming a lack of contact with Europeans indicates that the negotiation format remains predominantly trilateral (Ukraine, USA, Russia), and the role of European delegations within it, according to the Russian side, is undefined. The outcomes and potential next stages of consultations, including discussions on ceasefire and prisoner swaps, will depend on the dynamics of the second and subsequent days of negotiations.