Kremlin Says U.S.-Russia-Ukraine Talks Will Be Held in Abu Dhabi in First Half of November

Since Putin told Trump envoy Steve Witkoff on Oct. 21 that he would return to trilateral negotiations "in principle," the Kremlin has fixed a venue and a rough window for the first U.S.-Russia-Ukraine talks since February.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Oct. 23 that the talks are scheduled for the first half of November in Abu Dhabi and "will be held in a trilateral format." Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov had said talks would resume after Nov. 10. That leaves a window of roughly five days, and no exact date has been announced.

How the talks came together

Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Zelenskyy and some European leaders in Oslo on Oct. 20. The next day Witkoff met Putin for about three hours at St. Petersburg's Constantine Palace. Ushakov and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev were at the table, and Kushner joined by video link, according to Ushakov.

A White House official said the envoys proposed a technical-level trilateral meeting, which Ukraine accepted in Oslo and Russia accepted in St. Petersburg. The official said the discussions also covered a "post-war economic and prosperity plan" and European security architecture.

Ushakov said the talks will focus on "building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends." Peskov said that security question can be addressed only after a peace settlement is reached.

On Europe's role, Peskov said "nothing can be ruled out in advance." But he said it would be "impossible to discuss the European security architecture without other participants."

The three earlier rounds this year were two in Abu Dhabi, in January and February, and one in Geneva in February. They produced little beyond prisoner exchanges.

Hubbard freed, strikes continue

Russia released Stephen Hubbard on Oct. 21. He is an Air Force veteran and retired teacher who had been held more than four years on mercenary charges. Trump said Putin agreed to the release in a phone call last week and that the U.S. gave nothing in return.

Witkoff publicly thanked Putin and, per the Associated Press, described him as a "humanitarian" at the meeting.

The diplomacy did not slow the fighting. Within hours of Putin's statement, Russia launched ballistic missiles and drones at Kyiv in a deadly barrage, according to the AP. Moscow said the same day that it had destroyed more than 800 Ukrainian drones heading toward its cities.

On Oct. 23, the AP reported a separate announcement. Kyiv and Moscow agreed to a local ceasefire to let aid into a stranded town in the Kherson region, after secret consultations involving first lady Melania Trump and civilian negotiators from both countries. No outcome of that aid delivery appears in the reporting so far.

Diesel, sanctions and Washington's split

The talks are being set up alongside a fight in Washington over Trump's approach to Moscow. The administration temporarily eased restrictions on Russian diesel, and Trump said the fuel is meant for the world market. "That's a diesel deal that's going to be released into the world for the world market because the world market suffers with high prices," he told reporters. Witkoff thanked Putin for lifting Russia's diesel export ban and said it would help American farmers and truckers.

Six Republican senators joined Democrats in urging Trump to reverse the decision. Five House Republicans signed a bipartisan letter seeking to revoke the Treasury authorization. Energy analysts have questioned whether the volumes would move prices.

John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, argued that easing pressure before securing a reciprocal energy ceasefire could encourage Putin to hold out for more concessions. "The Ukrainians could stomach it if it were part of a mutual energy truce where both Russia and Ukraine don't strike each other's infrastructure," Hardie told Fox News Digital. He said Trump instead pressed Kyiv to stop its refinery strikes without getting the same restraint from Putin.

The AP also reports that disruptions in satellite support for Ukrainian drones followed Kyiv's rejection of Trump's call to halt strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. It describes Trump's relationship with Zelenskyy as at a new low. Trump has accused Zelenskyy of being an obstacle to peace.

The AP also reports that Trump recently rejected new Russia sanctions. Fox News reported that Washington was approaching an Oct. 18 deadline to begin implementing a sanctions law Congress passed by an overwhelming margin.

Positions have not moved

Zelenskyy told Fox News on Oct. 21 that "right now, we have to freeze," and called a halt along current front lines "the real way to end this war." He has also insisted that only a leaders' summit can break the impasse.

Russia continues to demand Ukrainian territory it does not fully control. Kyiv insists any deal include ironclad guarantees against another invasion.

The White House official said the Oslo and St. Petersburg meetings reflected a "positive and constructive spirit" and a shared determination to reach a durable peace, while acknowledging "important work remains."

The open questions are specific. Peskov has not named a date inside the Nov. 10 window. Neither the Kremlin nor Kyiv has said who will sit at the technical-level table in Abu Dhabi, or whether Europeans will be admitted. Whether the first round produces anything beyond another prisoner exchange will be known only after delegations meet.