Kyiv asks Moscow to shift Abu Dhabi talks to Nov. 3

Ukrainian negotiators are pressing Russia to move upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi forward by one week.

The current plan calls for trilateral meetings between the US, Ukraine, and Russia to begin on Nov. 10, following US congressional midterm elections. Kyiv and Washington are now trying to convince Moscow to accept a start date of Nov. 3. As of the evening of Oct. 25, a final confirmation from Russia had not been received.

A source in President Zelenskyy’s team said the timing is driven by practical winter concerns. The official noted that every week in December matters when power, water, or heating systems are under strain. A separate source from the President's Office added that Russian officials still believe they can break Ukraine during the winter months.

Ukraine also wants to seat an EU representative at the table. Russian negotiators have expressed reluctance to include Europeans during the first meeting. However, the Ukrainian team plans to bring the EU delegate to Abu Dhabi and provide real-time briefings. One source explained that European envoys currently lack a formal mandate to make decisions, limiting them to a signal-receiving role. Bjorn Seibert, head of the cabinet for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has emerged as the likely EU representative over the last two meetings.

Ukrainian leaders do not expect the first session to produce a breakthrough. A negotiator on Zelenskyy’s team predicted that new delegations will use the initial meeting to get acquainted. Substantive work is expected to begin at the second session, with potential decisions emerging by the third. Davyd Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, told American counterparts that any final peace configuration must be acceptable to residents of Kharkiv and Dnipro.

The Ukrainian side is also proposing a shift in negotiation strategy. Instead of immediately debating which specific villages will be ceded, Kyiv wants to define the overall security architecture and post-war cooperation with NATO first. A source close to the team cited a trust gap between the US and Russia, noting that confidence in US President Donald Trump is only 6 percentage points higher than confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.

Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian leader, stated that Russia is ready to resume trilateral negotiations after Nov. 4. US government sources indicate the next round could take place in either Abu Dhabi or Switzerland.