Russia, Ukraine and U.S. plan trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi in November
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Facts
- Russia, Ukraine and the United States plan trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November.
- The planned negotiations are intended to seek an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.
- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had agreed to a November trilateral meeting at the negotiating-team level.
- The previous U.S.-brokered talks had been stalled since the beginning of the year.
- The Kremlin said post-agreement security for Russia and Ukraine would be the main topic of the talks.
- Territory and security guarantees remain points of disagreement between Russia and Ukraine.
- The talks were announced after Russian President Vladimir Putin met U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.
Context
When and where are the talks expected to take place?
The Kremlin said the three-way talks are planned for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in the first half of November. Al Jazeera Online News18 MoneyControl SudOuest.fr La Presse.ca
What issues are expected to be discussed?
The Kremlin identified security arrangements for Russia and Ukraine after a peace agreement as the main subject. Reporting also identifies territory and security guarantees as unresolved obstacles. ABC News U.S. News & World R… Al Jazeera Online Times of India Uzmanpara.com DIE WELT SAPO
Why are the negotiations resuming now?
Moscow signaled readiness to resume talks following Putin's meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, after negotiations had been stalled earlier in the year. Al Jazeera Online News18 MoneyControl SudOuest.fr Estadão La Presse.ca
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Both frame the unresolved core of any deal as security guarantees and territory, and both treat talks resuming after a year's stalemate as consequential.
- Where Left and Right split
- The left and the right welcome the talks resuming but emphasize different stakes: Ukraine's terms or America's exposure.
- Why they won’t converge
- The split is a values divide over what diplomacy should optimize for—minimizing further Ukrainian losses versus minimizing future US security obligations—and that choice is untouched by agreeing talks are resuming.
- Watch for
- Whether the trilateral talks actually convene in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November as scheduled will test the process, since Zelenskyy said the meeting's holding depends on Russia's side following through.MoneyControl, Українська правда
How left and right read it
Every month this war grinds on is paid for in Ukrainian lives, so talks that had been stalled since the start of the year restarting in Abu Dhabi is worth taking seriously rather than dismissing. But the Kremlin naming post-agreement security as the main topic cannot mean Russia's security alone, because territory and guarantees are exactly what remain unsettled. Ukraine must also be the one that agrees to any terms.
“But deep disagreements over territory and security guarantees that re-emerged this week underscore obstacles to ending the war.” — ABC News
American diplomacy should be measured by how much it ends our exposure, not how much it adds. That standard matters here because the Kremlin has named post-agreement security as the main topic, and security guarantees remain unsettled between Russia and Ukraine, so the hardest bargaining will be over commitments someone must underwrite. Talks stalled since the start of the year are moving again. Whose obligation is being negotiated?
The talks reopen one bargaining question: whose obligations get written into the peace — Ukraine's consent or America's exposure.
The receipts — 100 sources
Wire services (2)
Independent coverage (98)
The news, read by both sides.
The day’s biggest stories in one short brief, built to show both sides and the competing values behind the headlines. Free in your inbox.