U.S. Envoys Meet Putin After Abu Dhabi Prisoner Deal

U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are traveling to Moscow on November 12, 2026, to hold face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit follows two days of U.S.-mediated trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi involving Russian and Ukrainian delegations. While the talks made little progress toward ending the war, they resulted in an in-principle agreement for a large-scale prisoner-of-war exchange, which Kushner described as the "biggest humanitarian release of prisoners."

Negotiators described the Abu Dhabi discussions as some of the toughest since 2022. Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia noted that Russian representatives operated under strict directives with little flexibility, though he later reported that the process had "good momentum." Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky stated that mutual understanding was reached in some areas, suggesting a peace deal is closer, though significant differences remain regarding territorial control of the Donetsk region and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Following the meeting in Moscow, Kushner and Witkoff will travel to Dublin, Ireland, to debrief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The U.S. envoys intend to press Putin to expand the trilateral process into a multilateral format by including European countries. President Zelenskyy expressed hope for a peace agreement by the end of 2026, though he admitted to being skeptical about the immediate outcome, noting that progress depends largely on the U.S. approach to Moscow.