Moscow, November 7, 2026 – The Europe Today: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a new round of trilateral Ukraine peace talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States is expected to begin in the United Arab Emirates next week.
Putin made the remarks on Friday during a meeting with members of Russia’s Security Council. “On Tuesday, trilateral talks on Ukraine are due to begin in the United Arab Emirates,” he said, adding that he had invited officials expected to take part in the negotiations to discuss preparations.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced earlier this week that Russian, American and Ukrainian delegations would meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11.
Russian Delegation Prepares for Ukraine Peace Talks
According to the Kremlin website, those present at Friday’s meeting included presidential aides Vladimir Medinsky and Yury Ushakov, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev, and Deputy Foreign Ministers Mikhail Galuzin and Sergey Ryabkov. Military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov and Yury Zhigarlovsky, Deputy Chief of the General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate, also attended.
The Kremlin has yet to announce the full composition of the Russian delegation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Medinsky would head the Russian team. Medinsky led Russia’s delegation in the initial talks with Ukraine in Türkiye in 2022, as well as in several rounds of the US-mediated peace process launched after President Donald Trump returned to the White House in early 2025.
Focus on Security Arrangements and De-escalation
Witkoff said the working-level talks would focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and next steps toward peace.
American negotiators also reportedly met representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday. They discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe’s post-war security architecture and economic opportunities for reconstruction. Following those meetings, Jared Kushner said Washington would continue consultations with Ukraine and its European partners while also engaging Russia as part of the peace negotiations.
Ukraine’s European partners have increasingly sought a place at the negotiating table in recent months. Moscow has ruled out their direct participation in the upcoming talks, arguing that they lost credibility as mediators by failing to uphold previous agreements, including the Minsk accords.
Russia and Ukraine held several rounds of US-mediated talks in the UAE and Switzerland earlier this year before the process was interrupted in late February. Washington revived its diplomatic efforts in September, initially through separate meetings with Moscow and Kyiv.
Putin has repeatedly said that Russia remains open to negotiations but will not accept a temporary ceasefire that would allow Ukraine to regroup and rearm. The Kremlin maintains that any lasting settlement must address what it describes as the root causes of the conflict, including Moscow’s security concerns.
