Kremlin confirms Abu Dhabi talks with Ukraine, says Putin-Trump-Xi meeting in works

The Kremlin on Tuesday confirmed that a Russian delegation will attend US-mediated talks with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November, and said work is under way on a first three-way meeting of the leaders of Russia, the United States and China later this month.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, will again lead Russia's negotiators, according to Interfax-Ukraine and The Moscow Times, which cited Russian media. Peskov also said Moscow hoped plans for a Putin-Trump-Xi meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, on 18 and 19 November would be "finalized in the coming days". Beijing has not confirmed that any such meeting will take place.

What happened

US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the Abu Dhabi round on Monday. He said the US would mediate working-level talks that would "focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace", CBS News reported. He referred to "progress made in Kyiv, Oslo, and St. Petersburg", where he met Putin on 21 October.

On Tuesday, Peskov confirmed the dates the American side had announced and named Medinsky as head of the Russian team, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Ukraine has not yet named its delegation.

On the leaders' meeting, Peskov told the Financial Times that "work is under way on organizing such a meeting", the Russian state news agency TASS reported. In a separate interview with the Russian state television correspondent Pavel Zarubin, he said: "There is a certain exchange of signals confirming readiness to hold such a meeting. There is also an exchange of views through diplomatic channels on what could be on the agenda." He described China, as the APEC host, as "the main organizing force", The Moscow Times reported.

Where Beijing and Washington stand

China's foreign ministry has said only that it is "in communication with relevant parties regarding the meeting between the Chinese and Russian heads of state", according to The Moscow Times. It has not mentioned a meeting that includes President Donald Trump. Russia's deputy foreign minister Andrey Rudenko had earlier said no final decision had been taken, TASS reported, and Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Putin had discussed the idea with Witkoff.

According to The Moscow Times, which cited the Financial Times, a source said Washington and Moscow were both pressing Beijing to agree, and that the war in Ukraine would be discussed. A Kremlin source told the FT that Russia did not expect substantive negotiations on Ukraine at such a meeting. Putin first proposed a three-way meeting with nuclear arms control in mind, and Trump has said he is open to it and wants to discuss other subjects too, including Ukraine.

Separately, Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for military talks and described the two countries' strategic partnership as "unprecedentedly high", The Moscow Times reported.

Background

Russia and Ukraine last held US-mediated talks in February, in three rounds: two in Abu Dhabi and one in Geneva. They stalled after the US and Israel went to war with Iran in late February. Putin agreed to a new round after meeting Witkoff in St Petersburg in October.

The war has intensified around the new diplomacy. On Tuesday, Russia launched 289 drones and 76 missiles at Ukraine's energy system, Ukraine's air force said. On Sunday, a Russian strike on an aid centre in Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 29 people, according to Ukrainian officials. Russia's defence ministry said it struck energy facilities and port infrastructure in the Odesa region.

A small humanitarian pause has also been tested. A six-day local ceasefire in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in Kherson region, which allowed aid in and some residents out, ended on Sunday. The White House credits US First Lady Melania Trump with brokering it, and said she would bring Russian and Ukrainian representatives to the White House on Thursday to discuss it, CNBC reported. Ukraine has accused Russia of using the pause to reinforce its positions in the town.

What they are saying

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said any talks among the three powers are acceptable only if Ukraine takes part. "Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," he said on 20 October. He has said he is ready to meet Putin in Türkiye.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping last Friday, said Europe must be involved in any discussions about the war, The Moscow Times reported. US negotiators are due to meet French, German, British, EU and NATO representatives in Brussels this week on security guarantees for Ukraine.

Moscow continues to demand that Ukraine give up the parts of Donetsk region it still holds before any ceasefire, The Moscow Times has reported; Kyiv has repeatedly refused.

Why it matters for India

India has called for dialogue and diplomacy throughout the war and has been one of the biggest buyers of Russian crude oil since 2022, which has put it under Western pressure over Russia's energy revenue. Any deal that changes sanctions on Russia, or a new wave of strikes on energy infrastructure on both sides, would feed through to the oil prices India pays.

A meeting that put the US, China and Russia at one table on Ukraine and nuclear arms control would also be watched closely in New Delhi. India is not a member of APEC and would not be in the room. China's nuclear arsenal, which any three-way arms-control discussion would touch, is central to India's own security planning, and the closer military ties between Moscow and Beijing on display in Belousov's visit affect a country that buys much of its military equipment from Russia while facing China along the Line of Actual Control.

What happens next

• 10-11 November: US-mediated talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi
• This week: US meetings with European and NATO officials in Brussels on security guarantees
• Thursday: White House meeting on the Oleshky ceasefire hosted by Melania Trump
• 18-19 November: APEC summit in Shenzhen, where Peskov hopes a Putin-Trump-Xi meeting can be held