Russia names date and location for next Ukraine peace talks
Photo: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov (Getty Images)
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. stated that talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine are planned for the first half of November in Abu Dhabi in a trilateral format.
According to Peskov, whether it would be appropriate for a special envoy of the European Union to participate in the talks “will depend on the position Brussels takes.”
Peskov also said that “a comprehensive settlement of the war is impossible without discussing the security issues of both Russia and Ukraine.”
He provided no further details about the planned meeting.
Peace talks on Ukraine
On October 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also took part in the talks.
The following day, Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg for a meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev also attended.
The US envoy said he had brought the Russian leader documents outlining proposed approaches to ending the war. After the talks, Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov claimed that the process was supposedly moving closer to ending the war.
Axios reported, citing sources, that following the meetings in Oslo and St. Petersburg, Ukraine and Russia had agreed to resume trilateral talks involving the United States.
However, according to an RBC-Ukraine source, Kyiv considers an agreement on an energy ceasefire unlikely to emerge from these contacts. Instead, the Ukrainian side views the resumption of negotiations at the delegation level and a possible agreement on de-escalation measures as potential successes.
The source also noted that, ahead of the November 3 US congressional elections, the main political outcome could be the resumption of the negotiating process. Positive results in the humanitarian sphere, however, are expected sooner.
Ukraine is also interested in having European partners join the next meeting alongside representatives of Ukraine, the United States and Russia.
Western media have also reported that US President Donald Trump allegedly wants Zelenskyy and Putin to sign a peace agreement during the G20 summit scheduled for December in Florida. Media reports suggest that Kyiv could face significant pressure during the negotiations.
