On November 10, trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia aimed at ending the war will resume in Abu Dhabi for the first time since February. The meetings are scheduled for two days, November 10 and 11, with the main session set to begin at 09:50 Kyiv time, according to Ukrainian and Russian media. Delegations from Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington have already arrived in the UAE capital. Parallel to the trilateral track, the Ukrainian side will hold separate consultations with European partners, the EU, and NATO. According to U.S. Special Envoy Jared Kushner, the agenda covers four main areas: security guarantees, humanitarian issues, territorial settlements, and post-war reconstruction.
Meeting Format and Participants
The key organizational decision was to maintain a strict trilateral format: EU and NATO representatives will not participate directly in the room where the Ukraine-U.S.-Russia negotiations are taking place. Instead, before the main session, the U.S. side will hold coordination meetings with partners from the EU, NATO, Germany, France, the UK, and Italy. According to Kushner, the goal of these consultations is the "coordination of actions regarding European security and Ukraine's post-war future." The Russian Foreign Ministry had previously emphasized that the meeting is strictly trilateral in nature, refuting reports of direct involvement by European officials in the main track.
Agenda: Four Focus Areas and Differing Priorities
The official agenda includes four blocks: security guarantees, the humanitarian track, territorial issues, and reconstruction. However, sources disagree on which issue will be prioritized. According to The New York Times, participants will focus primarily on security guarantees designed to prevent the resumption of war, rather than an immediate ceasefire. Bloomberg, citing a U.S. official, reports a different structure: the first session should be dedicated to ceasefire monitoring and post-war security, while the second will address territorial settlement. Moscow, for its part, claims that the first item on the agenda is the discussion of security issues for Russia, Ukraine, and the region as a whole. Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg, the U.S. side has asked Russia to agree to security guarantees for Ukraine involving the U.S. and Europe, which are being compared to the provisions of Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO treaty.
The Role of Europe and the Humanitarian Track
European countries, according to available data, insist that Russia must first end the war against Ukraine before a broader security system in Europe can be discussed. Kyiv, in turn, seeks to involve the continent in the diplomatic process: "As determined by President Volodymyr Zelensky, we are doing everything to ensure Europe is a participant in the diplomatic process," said Ukrainian representative Umerov. Special attention will be paid to the humanitarian track during the negotiations: according to Budanov, Kyiv is interested in intensifying prisoner exchanges.
Expectations and Next Steps
The Ukrainian side does not expect a breakthrough in the first round. According to Arakhamia, the resumption of the negotiation process after a long break is an achievement in itself, and the U.S., in his assessment, is trying to act as symmetrically as possible without taking sides. Umerov emphasized that Ukraine's goal is a long-term and sustainable peace, guaranteed security, and real opportunities for reconstruction. The U.S. side sees a real chance to achieve serious progress, but according to an unnamed official, it does not expect an agreement to be reached by the end of the November 10–11 meetings. Before the talks began, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he sees a "strong desire" to end the conflict, noting that Russia and Ukraine are "tired of the fighting." According to Reuters sources, after Abu Dhabi, Witkoff and Kushner may travel to Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin.
