Key facts
- Ukraine hopes the meeting will restart regular negotiations and deliver limited results.
- Prisoner exchanges and sector-specific ceasefires, including one focused on energy infrastructure, are priorities.
- Disagreements over territory and security guarantees are likely to remain obstacles to any settlement.
A planned meeting between Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. in Abu Dhabi will focus on de-escalating Russia's war, President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on Oct. 27. Moscow has seemingly agreed to resume talks with Kyiv after a pause of more than eight months. Although Ukrainian officials do not expect the first round to produce a major breakthrough, Kyiv hopes the meeting will restart regular negotiations and deliver limited results. The latest push for a trilateral meeting began in early September, when Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Kyiv and Moscow to seek progress toward ending Russia's war. The visits produced an agreement in principle to hold a meeting involving Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. Putin initially declined to meet with the Ukrainian side after the September trip, but the Kremlin signaled readiness to resume talks after Witkoff visited Moscow on Oct. 21. Zelensky said the planned meeting should focus on initial steps toward de-escalation, security priorities, and ending the war. He added that prisoner exchanges and sector-specific ceasefires, including one focused on energy infrastructure, are priorities. Even if the talks resume, major disagreements over territory and security guarantees are likely to remain obstacles to any potential settlement.