Trump and Putin Coordinate Trilateral Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi
President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are coordinating trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi and a great-powers summit in Shenzhen to resolve the war in Ukraine.
The United States, Russia, and Ukraine are coordinating trilateral negotiations tentatively scheduled for early to mid-November in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. These expert-level talks aim to establish a post-war security framework and a path toward a subsequent heads-of-state summit. Donald Trump has increased diplomatic pressure on Kyiv to reach a peace agreement by December, while offering Moscow concessions including temporary sanctions relief and diesel export deals.
Parallel to the Abu Dhabi talks, Russia is pressing for a great-powers summit between Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, on November 18-19. This proposed meeting, first suggested by Putin during an October 9 phone call, would focus on the Ukraine conflict and nuclear proliferation. While Trump is open to the meeting, the Kremlin has sought a format that excludes Ukraine and the European Union.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed support for the command-level meetings in Abu Dhabi and a potential ceasefire to freeze the war along current front lines. However, he has ruled out territorial concessions and insisted that any negotiations regarding Ukraine's future must include Ukrainian participation to avoid a new Yalta Conference. Diplomatic efforts have been facilitated by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who held meetings with Putin in St. Petersburg and Zelenskyy in Oslo. Trump has remained critical of the Ukrainian leadership, stating, "Frankly, Zelensky is not helping matters much."
