Russia has announced plans to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States in November, raising fresh hopes for diplomatic progress towards ending the war that has lasted more than four years.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the next round of negotiations is expected to take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, during the first half of November.
According to Peskov, the discussions will involve representatives of all three countries as efforts intensify to find a possible path towards ending the conflict.
The proposed meeting follows a series of diplomatic engagements this week involving US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Witkoff met Zelensky and European leaders in Oslo on Tuesday before travelling to Saint Petersburg for discussions with Putin on Wednesday.
Following the meetings, both Moscow and Kyiv indicated their willingness to return to direct negotiations facilitated by Washington.
The talks have remained stalled since the beginning of the year, despite repeated efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia has suggested that the next discussions could take place around November 10, while Zelensky has urged that negotiations begin “as soon as possible”.
However, questions remain over what the proposed talks could achieve, particularly as both sides continue to face major disagreements over the terms of a potential peace agreement.
In a televised interview aired late Thursday, Putin said the proposed three-way discussions would focus on security arrangements connected to a final peace deal rather than a temporary ceasefire.
The planned Abu Dhabi meeting could therefore become another important test of whether renewed diplomatic engagement can bring Russia, Ukraine and the United States closer to an agreement to end the war.
Source: AFP
