Kyiv asks Moscow to start Abu Dhabi talks Nov. 3

Ukrainian negotiators are asking Russia to move the upcoming trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi up by one week, from November 10 to November 3. Kyiv also wants to seat an European representative at the table, a demand Moscow has so far resisted. The shift would place the start of negotiations before the US congressional midterm elections.

The original plan calls for a meeting in Abu Dhabi or Switzerland following the November 4 vote. Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated that Russia is ready to resume talks after that date. However, a source close to the Ukrainian negotiation team said Kyiv and Washington are now pushing to convince the Russians to agree to the earlier date.

Time pressure drives the request. A member of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s team explained that December will be critical for civilians. The source noted that when people lack power, water, or heating, every single day counts. The team believes that starting the process a week earlier provides a necessary buffer against the worsening weather.

Russia has not yet confirmed the new date. As of the evening of October 25, Moscow had not sent final approval for the change. Kyiv anticipates that the first session will serve as a procedural step rather than a decisive one. A Ukrainian official with experience in these negotiations predicted that the delegations will spend the first meeting getting acquainted. Substantive work is expected to begin at the second round, with potential real decisions emerging by the third.

The composition of the delegations is also in flux. The Ukrainian side expects updates to the group of negotiators. Consequently, the initial meeting will allow new members to adjust to the process. This aligns with the broader strategy of establishing a framework before diving into specific territorial questions.

Kyiv also seeks to change how the talks are framed. Instead of debating which villages belong to which side immediately, Ukrainian negotiators want to first define what peace looks like after the war ends. A source close to the team said Ukraine needs to present a clear picture of its protection and its relationship with NATO. The source pointed out that trust in US President Donald Trump is only six percent higher than trust in Putin among Ukrainians, meaning local confidence in US assurances alone is not enough.

European involvement remains a point of contention. Russia opposes seating Europeans at the first meeting. However, the Ukrainian team intends to bring them along to brief them in real time. The problem, according to a source, is that the EU has not designated a formal representative with a mandate to make decisions. Envoys can currently only observe and receive signals.

A potential EU representative has emerged in recent meetings. Björn Seibert, the Head of Cabinet and closest aide to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has been identified as the likely observer. Ukrainian sources in the diplomatic team maintain that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff passed the idea of a new security model to Putin, who allegedly agreed to the concept.

The domestic political stakes are high for the final deal. Davyd Arakhamiia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, told American counterparts that the final peace configuration must be acceptable to residents of Kharkiv and Dnipro. Arakhamiia argued that if the people in these regions, who are next after Donbas, agree that the formula suits them, it will represent genuine progress.

Zelenskyy has set firm boundaries for the negotiations. He stated that Ukraine will not agree to limits on the size of its Armed Forces or to neutral status in any potential peace deal. These parameters define the scope of what Kyiv is willing to concede on the table.