US Mediates High-Stakes Ukraine–Russia Summit in Abu Dhabi: What to Know

WASHINGTON—The United States will mediate two days of working-level peace talks between Ukraine and Russia starting Nov. 10 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to address postwar security concerns and territorial issues.

The meeting marks the first trilateral talks since negotiations in Geneva ended without a breakthrough in February.

President Donald Trump’s Special Envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will be representing the United States during the talks in the UAE’s capital.

“Building on our separate consultations with both sides, our objective is to bring Ukraine and Russia together to discuss directly their postwar security concerns, proposals, and potential solutions,” Kushner said in an X post on Nov. 9.

The first session of the Abu Dhabi talks will focus on ceasefire monitoring and postwar security while the second session will focus on territorial issues, U.S. officials told reporters during a call previewing the meetings.

Here’s what to know about the Abu Dhabi talks.

US Seeks European Inclusion in Talks

In his X message, Kushner outlined four key objectives for these negotiations: ending hostilities, developing postwar security guarantees, preparing an economic recovery plan for Ukraine, and advancing humanitarian measures.

However, European security cannot be decided without the EU at the negotiation table, he said, noting that the trilateral talks need to become a broader multilateral process.

“Ultimately, achieving a comprehensive and lasting settlement will also require direct engagement between Russia and our European partners on the broader security arrangements that affect them,” Kushner wrote.

During the meetings, the United States will seek to persuade the Russian side that European countries should be invited to future talks, U.S. officials said.

“We do believe very strongly that at this point, in order to end the war, you really need to have Europe at the table,” one official said.

He cited the recent call between the leaders of Russia, Finland, and Norway as “a good step.”

Territorial Concessions

Territorial disputes remain a central sticking point in the ongoing talks. The second session of the talks is set to address this and other unresolved issues.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to demand full control of the entire Donetsk region as a precondition for any ceasefire, a U.S. official indicated that both sides have privately signaled a degree of flexibility.

However, a breakthrough on territories may depend entirely on long-term security guarantees.

“I believe from both sides, they will not solve the Donetsk issue and the territorial issue until they know what the security architecture is going to be after the war,” the official said, noting that both issues need to be negotiated together.

“We’re not going to be able to finalize one without the other. So we want to have these discussions happening in parallel.”

NATO-Style Guarantees for Ukraine

Washington has asked Russia to agree to U.S. and NATO security guarantees for Ukraine that are similar to Articles 4 and 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

Article 4 states a member country can request consultation when it feels threatened, while Article 5 mandates collective defense if a member is attacked.

“What [Ukraine] would be getting would be effectively very similar to NATO,” the official said.

The official also added that President Donald Trump will make the final decision on what U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine will be.

“We’ll see what President Trump decides if he wants to grant it. Getting a U.S. security guarantee is a really, really big deal. But that'll be up to him and President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy to discuss,” the official said.

“President Trump’s been very clear. He wants Europe to carry the financial burden for this.”

Ahead of the trilateral meeting, U.S. envoys were expected to meet with officials from Ukraine, the EU, NATO, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy to discuss what Europeans demand with respect to security guarantees and long-term security architecture between Russia and other European countries.

US Signals Optimism

U.S. officials expressed optimism, stating that the parties are now positioned to make meaningful progress toward ending the war.

“I feel like we see real desire on the Russian side to finish,” the U.S. official said.

“Getting both parties back to the table has not been easy to do, but we believe both parties are coming with good intentions.”

Before the talks, Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian team is ready to suggest steps to ease tensions at the upcoming meeting.

“At the meetings in Abu Dhabi, our team will propose de-escalatory steps, and there must be an understanding of how to arrange a trilateral meeting at the leaders’ level to bring this war to an end fairly and for real,” Zelenskyy said in an X post on Nov. 9.

There is currently no timeline for a summit between Zelenskyy and Putin. However, depending on the outcome of the two-day talks in Abu Dhabi, U.S. envoys are expected to visit both leaders separately, according to the U.S. official.

“I think we’re going to have it done, and I think it’s going to happen and they’re going to end up with a little bit different shape Ukraine,” he said.