The Ukrainian side does not expect a breakthrough during the first round of trilateral talks involving the US and Russia, which, according to reports, are set to resume on November 10 in Abu Dhabi. David Arakhamia, head of the "Servant of the People" parliamentary faction, told DW that after a long break, the resumption of the dialogue itself is an achievement. According to him, this is why the expectations of the Kyiv negotiating team for the first meeting are minimal, while for the second round, as he put it, "we expect something."
Why no breakthrough is expected from the first meeting
Arakhamia's key argument is the long break in the negotiation process. "I think not (we should not expect a breakthrough). And here is why: there was a long break in the negotiations. Therefore, if we talk about the internal situation, the resumption of negotiations is already an achievement," he explained. In this context, he assesses the first meeting as having a restorative nature: the parties are returning to the dialogue format, exchanging positions, and building a work agenda, rather than finalizing breakthrough agreements.
How Kyiv assesses Washington's role
Responding to a question about the United States' position, Arakhamia stated that he sees no signs of Washington taking sides in the conflict. "They are trying to act as symmetrically as possible," he emphasized. Thus, the Ukrainian side assesses the US role primarily as a mediator, rather than support for one of the parties, which, according to him, determines the nature and pace of initial contacts.
Agenda: security and humanitarian track
According to The New York Times, the issue of a ceasefire will not be discussed at the first meeting in Abu Dhabi; the focus is expected to shift to post-war security issues and settlement mechanisms. In this vein, US Presidential Envoy Jared Kushner announced that ahead of the peace talks in Abu Dhabi, the US is convening a separate meeting with NATO partners, EU representatives, and Ukraine to discuss the post-war security architecture. In parallel, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, stated that Kyiv intends to pay close attention to the humanitarian track during the talks, specifically the intensification of prisoner-of-war exchanges.
What this means for the second round
The combination of statements indicates a phased logic to the negotiations: the first round is viewed as re-establishing contact and working out the framework, while the Ukrainian side links concrete results on security and humanitarian issues to the second round. Thus, the parties are approaching November 10 in Abu Dhabi with deliberately restrained expectations for the first meeting, but with the calculation that the momentum gathered during the break and parallel consultations with NATO and EU allies will allow them to advance the agenda at the next stage.
