US Brokers First Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Nine Months in Abu Dhabi

Conflict · First reported 10 Nov, 23:24 · Updated 23:52

Image: Wikimedia Commons · NASA Johnson Space Center / Jonny Kim · Public domain

Russian, Ukrainian, and United States officials gathered in Abu Dhabi for their first direct peace negotiations since February. Brokered by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, discussions centered on humanitarian concerns and security guarantees, though both warring sides remain divided over broader settlement terms and the sequence of European security architecture talks.

Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Abu Dhabi alongside US mediators for their first peace negotiations since February.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled the discussions productive, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called them constructive and noted progress on prisoner-of-war exchanges and security guarantees.
Negotiators opened a second day of discussions on Wednesday, with Kyiv's delegation headed by Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov.
Moscow expressed a preference for establishing a broad European security architecture before settling the war, while Kyiv and European officials argued that ending fighting and providing Ukrainian security guarantees must happen first.
Territorial divisions persist as Russian President Vladimir Putin demands control over the entire Donbas, which Ukraine has refused to surrender.