Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US are scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi (UAE) in the first half of November.
Speaking to the Russian media on 23 October, Peskov noted that the participation of European representatives in discussions on security issues could not be ruled out in the future.
“Nothing can be ruled out in advance, but the talks in question, in Abu Dhabi, scheduled for the first half of November, will take place in a trilateral format,” the Interfax news agency quoted Vladimir Putin’s press secretary as saying.
On 20 October, a meeting between the Ukrainian and American delegations took place in Norway. Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Støre also took part in the talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President’s Special Envoy Steve Whitcoff in Oslo.
Following the meeting, the President of Finland spoke of “real progress”. According to him, the parties had identified “certain elements of a peaceful settlement” which they intended to present in St Petersburg. In addition, agreement was reached on specific security and economic issues.
The following day, 21 October, the US negotiator Whitcoff arrived in Russia and held a three-hour meeting with Putin.
Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian President who was also present at the meeting, reported that Putin had allegedly stated Russia’s readiness to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the US in the first ten days of November. The main topic is to be the establishment of a security framework for Russia and Ukraine following the end of the war.
US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Whitcoff described the talks in Oslo and St Petersburg as ‘constructive’, but added that ‘there is still a great deal of important work ahead’.
The US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that high-ranking Kremlin officials have once again confirmed Russia’s long-standing reluctance to engage in substantive peace talks. At the same time, Moscow is attempting to portray Kyiv and Europe as the main obstacles to peace in Ukraine.
Following the talks in Norway, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv “fully supports the American proposals”.
“We will support proposals for a ceasefire and an end to the war, an energy truce, humanitarian initiatives — the return of prisoners of war. And, of course, diplomacy. The main initiative of all these talks and the main positive signal – a positive one so far – is that we fully support the American proposals,” Zelenskyy told journalists.
Zelenskyy explained that the American side had shared the outcome of the meeting in St Petersburg. “We have received feedback: as far as we understood from the briefing, Russia supports a trilateral meeting at the level of our teams. The American side proposes holding it as soon as possible. We support this. I do not know what the final dates will be. The agenda is to end the war, bring peace closer and prepare everything for a summit-level meeting. This is very important,” he noted.
The President clarified that the date of the talks is not yet known, but suggested that they might take place in early November.
Until now, the US has played a leading role in attempts to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian war through diplomacy. Washington has maintained contact with both Moscow and Kyiv, whilst European countries have not always been directly involved in the negotiations.
In September, the European Commission announced the EU’s readiness to join the diplomatic process, but did not confirm that a separate post of European negotiator would be created.
Recently, the Kremlin has once again claimed that European countries are allegedly doing everything possible to prolong the war in Ukraine, whilst US President Donald Trump and his negotiators are trying to bring it to an end.
Earlier, the US Institute for the Study of War noted that Russia remains unprepared for constructive negotiations and has no intention of making concessions to end the war, seeking instead the capitulation of Ukraine. According to the ISW, Russian President Vladimir Putin used a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump on 9 October to make unfounded accusations against Ukraine regarding the lack of progress in peace talks.