In brief

• Trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States are set for 10–11 November in Abu Dhabi, the first in this format since February.
• Moscow will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, with deputy foreign ministers and senior military intelligence and General Staff officers in the group.
• Kyrylo Budanov will lead Ukraine's delegation, though he does not expect a major breakthrough in this round.

Date and format of the talks

A trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States is set for Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 and 11 November, in Abu Dhabi, with the United States acting as mediator (У Кремлі повідомили, кого відправлять на тристоронні переговори в Абу-Дабі – UNIAN). Bloomberg reports it will be the first talks in this format since February, and that Moscow is sending a higher-level delegation than in earlier rounds, which may signal readiness to discuss both political and military questions (Bloomberg: Росія направляє в Абу-Дабі делегацію вищого рівня, ніж раніше – Українська правда) (Россия направит на переговоры в Абу-Даби делегацию более высокого уровня, чем ранее — Bloomberg – NV). Ukrainian outlets report the same schedule (Путін зробив заяву про майбутні переговори в Абу-Дабі і сформував делегацію: хто у списку – TSN) (Не лише дипломати: Пєсков заявив, що до Абу-Дабі від РФ поїдуть генерал Генштабу й глава ГРУ – Espreso).

Russian delegation

Vladimir Medinsky, presidential aide, will again lead Moscow's group (Rusija į derybas Abu Dabyje siųs aukšto rango delegaciją – Diena.lt). Deputy foreign ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin will join, along with Igor Kostyukov, head of military intelligence, and Yuri Zhigarlovsky, a senior General Staff officer. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the list, saying presidential aide Yuri Ushakov will not attend the meeting itself but will supervise the international track.

Putin met the delegation members at a Security Council session on Friday, 6 November, where he thanked the United Arab Emirates for hosting the meeting; the rest of the session was closed to the press.

Ukrainian side

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President, will lead Ukraine's delegation, he told CBS News. He said he does not expect a major breakthrough in this round, though agreement by both sides to meet in person is a sign of progress (Буданов возглавит украинскую делегацию на встрече с представителями США и РФ в Абу-Даби – NV). Some Ukrainian reports list Rustem Umerov as head of the delegation, so the composition on the Ukrainian side is not yet settled.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv has already sent its American partners proposals on possible outcomes, and that he opposes European-Russian security arrangements being discussed without Ukraine's own security guarantees ("Ми не хочемо, щоб нас поділила Росія": Зеленський назвав ключові теми переговорів про мир – TSN).

Open questions

The Kremlin says the full delegation list will be published later, so the names reported so far may still change (Путин назвал дату трехсторонних переговоров по Украине - кто войдет в состав делегаций – Zerkalo). European governments, according to Bloomberg, do not want to discuss Russia's demands on European security architecture while the war continues, a position that may clash with Washington's approach (Європа висунула жорсткий ультиматум Кремлю перед переговорами — Bloomberg – TSN).

Read also

• Zelensky says Russia appears serious about Abu Dhabi trilateral talks, with US role key