Russia is considering a new round of negotiations with Ukraine and the United States near Nov. 10, while Kyiv supports an earlier meeting of negotiating teams, leaving the proposed timing and format unsettled.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said President Vladimir Putin told U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff during their Oct. 21 meeting in St. Petersburg that Moscow was prepared in principle to restart a three-party process. Ushakov described security arrangements for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict as a central concern.
The latest comments add a possible venue to Moscow’s earlier indication that it was open to a November round. In a later interview with Russian state broadcaster Vesti, Ushakov mentioned Abu Dhabi as a possible host and pointed to a tentative mid-November window, Interfax reported. The remarks did not confirm a date or location.
Reuters reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy backed a U.S. proposal for negotiating teams to meet as soon as possible, preferably by early November. In an Oct. 20 account of meetings in Oslo, the Office of the President of Ukraine said Zelenskyy wanted the United States to take proposals to Russia and outlined a possible leaders’ meeting to address matters requiring their decisions.
The Kyiv Independent separately reported that Putin and Witkoff had discussed a framework for the three-way process. It said possible subjects raised by Zelenskyy included cease-fire proposals, energy and humanitarian concerns, the return of prisoners and diplomats, and participation by European partners. The Kremlin’s public account did not detail that framework or list those subjects.
The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Abu Dhabi had hosted two earlier rounds involving the three countries, in January and February 2026. Zelenskyy’s reported preference is for an earlier meeting of negotiating teams, while Ushakov’s tentative window falls around mid-November; no shared date has been announced.
