Ukraine Talks May Return to Abu Dhabi as Leaders Weigh Next Step

A new round of US-led negotiations involving Ukraine and Russia could take place within weeks in Abu Dhabi or Switzerland, potentially creating the groundwork for a summit between national leaders.

Reuters reported on Friday, October 23, citing unnamed government sources, that delegations from the United States, Ukraine and Russia were considering the capital of the United Arab Emirates or an unspecified location in Switzerland for the next meeting.

The proposed discussions would represent another attempt to advance negotiations on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. Yet the format remains unresolved. It is unclear whether Ukrainian and Russian representatives would negotiate directly or communicate through US mediators, according to the report.

A Washington representative said the ultimate objective of the possible talks would be to prepare a meeting at the highest political level. That distinction is central to the emerging diplomatic strategy: negotiating teams may be able to define the agenda and narrow disagreements, but the most consequential decisions would require approval from national leaders.

Technical talks as a route to a leaders’ summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 23 that an agreement had been reached to hold a three-way meeting among Ukrainian, US and Russian negotiating teams. He said the parties planned to meet during the first half of November.

“We are ready to meet on any day—even tomorrow. But everything depends on the Russians,” Zelensky said.

Speaking by video link to the Hudson Institute, a conservative US think tank, Zelensky characterized the planned session as technical rather than decisive. He argued that the process would have to progress from working-level trilateral negotiations to direct engagement among leaders.

“It is necessary to move from trilateral talks at the technical level to a meeting of leaders, because the key issues can only be resolved at that level,” he said.

For corporate executives and boards monitoring the war’s economic and operational consequences, the proposed sequence matters. A technical meeting can signal that governments are prepared to keep diplomatic channels open, but it does not itself indicate that a settlement is close. The absence of clarity over whether Kyiv and Moscow will speak directly also underscores how much of the process may continue to depend on US mediation.

Moscow identifies Abu Dhabi as the venue

Shortly before Zelensky’s remarks, the Kremlin said the trilateral negotiations would take place in Abu Dhabi during the first half of November. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the talks would address security arrangements for Russia and Ukraine following the end of the war.

Peskov also said European Union representatives would not participate. Their expected absence would give the United States the central external role in a negotiating format focused on the two warring countries, even as the proposed agenda concerns the future security structure around both states.

The differing public descriptions leave important elements unsettled. Moscow presented Abu Dhabi as the planned location, while the Reuters report said Switzerland remained another possibility. Kyiv confirmed the expected timing and the trilateral composition but emphasized that the negotiating teams would serve a technical function on the path toward a leaders’ meeting.

Those distinctions are significant for decision-makers assessing whether the talks could alter strategic planning. The location, participation rules and level of political authority represented at the table will help determine whether the meeting is primarily procedural or capable of producing commitments that could be elevated rapidly for approval.

Earlier Abu Dhabi rounds produced no breakthrough

The latest developments followed a meeting in St. Petersburg two days earlier between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Steven Witkoff, a special envoy of the US president. After that discussion, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said Russia was ready to resume trilateral negotiations with the United States and Ukraine.

Abu Dhabi has already hosted two rounds of closed talks among Ukrainian, Russian and US delegations. The first was held on January 23 and 24, and the second on February 4 and 5. Neither round produced a breakthrough toward ending the war in Ukraine.

That record places a high burden on any November session. The immediate measure of progress may be whether the three sides can agree on a workable channel for negotiations, define the security questions to be addressed and establish conditions for a summit.

For businesses, the diplomatic movement is relevant because senior management and boards must distinguish between the reopening of negotiations and a material change in the conflict. The current signals point to renewed engagement and possible escalation to leader-level diplomacy, while leaving the central political questions unresolved.

The next several weeks may therefore clarify the architecture of the process rather than its outcome. Abu Dhabi appears to be Moscow’s stated choice, Switzerland remains under consideration according to Reuters’ sources, and Kyiv says it is ready to convene quickly. Whether those positions produce a direct negotiating format—and ultimately a summit—will depend on decisions taken at the highest levels in Washington, Kyiv and Moscow.