Kremlin Confirms Russia Will Join Ukraine Peace Talks Next Week

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky will lead Moscow’s delegation to Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, the Kremlin confirmed. The announcement turns a US plan for renewed talks into a meeting Russia says it will attend. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the talks would bring Russia, Ukraine and the United States together. ^3,4

Medinsky’s team will meet after US special envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington would help lead working-level talks, meaning discussions among officials rather than national leaders. Witkoff said the agenda would cover security after the war, easing tensions, humanitarian efforts and steps toward peace. Before the Abu Dhabi meeting, US negotiators plan to meet representatives of France, Germany, Britain, the European Union and NATO in Brussels. ^1,5

Those Brussels talks touch the hardest question for Kyiv: what could protect Ukraine if fighting stops and Russia attacks again? Ukraine wants firm security guarantees and has rejected giving up territory seized by Russia. Moscow, meanwhile, has demanded control over Ukrainian land it claims to have annexed and opposed Ukraine joining NATO. The sides remain far apart, and earlier US-led rounds led to prisoner exchanges but no broad peace deal. ^1,5,6

That gap matters beyond the negotiating room. European countries may be asked to help pay for Ukraine’s recovery or take part in security plans, yet they are not confirmed as participants in Abu Dhabi. The Kremlin named Medinsky as its lead negotiator, while the US team is expected to include Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The next clear test comes on November 10, when the delegations are due to meet in the Emirati capital. ^3,5,7