The Kremlin said on Friday that new trilateral peace talks on Ukraine are scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, for the “first half of November.”
“The negotiations are scheduled for the first half of November in Abu Dhabi,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing, noting they will focus on ensuring the security of Russia and Ukraine after a peace is achieved between the two countries.
Peskov described the topic as a key component for reaching a peaceful settlement, arguing that a comprehensive solution is “impossible” without it.
Commenting on whether Moscow rules out the possibility of the talks becoming quadrilateral through the participation of Europe, Peskov said “nothing can be ruled out a priori.”
“However, the negotiations we are discussing – scheduled for the first half of November in Abu Dhabi – will take place in a trilateral format,” Peskov said, adding the initial phase of these discussions will follow a trilateral format, though it is clear that discussing the architecture of European security without other participants “will not be possible.”
Neither US nor Ukrainian authorities have immediately commented on Peskov's statements.
The remarks come a day after Russian Presidenr Vladimir Putin hosted US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff at St. Petersburg’s Constantine Palace, after which Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that Putin conveyed Moscow’s readiness "in principle" to resume trilateral peace negotiations on Ukraine in November.
“Our president informed Steve Witkoff that we are, in principle, prepared to resume the aforementioned trilateral negotiations around the 10th of November,” Ushakov said following the talks, adding that Moscow’s readiness for trilateral negotiations particularly concerned the issue of building a post-war “security system” for Russia and Ukraine.
Witkoff stated on US social media platform X that he and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner held “constructive” discussions in St. Petersburg and the Norwegian capital Oslo, the latter of which took place Tuesday, and that these discussions will continue with trilateral talks “at the technical level.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Ukraine supported the US’ push to hold trilateral talks with Russia “as soon as possible,” adding: “The agenda is clear: to end the war, bring peace closer, and prepare everything for a meeting at the level of the leaders – this is very important for everyone.”
