Zelensky outlines expectations for planned Ukraine-Russia-US talks in Abu Dhabi

Zelensky told reporters that Ukrainian officials do not expect the first round to produce a major breakthrough, but Kyiv hopes the meeting will restart regular negotiations and deliver limited results. "They had the impression the Russians are serious about the meeting in Abu Dhabi," he said, referring to a call that Norwegian and Finnish leaders held with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 27.

The planned meeting follows renewed U.S. efforts to bring the sides together. The latest push began in early September, when U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Kyiv and Moscow, producing an agreement in principle to hold a trilateral meeting. Putin initially declined to meet with the Ukrainian side after that trip, but the Kremlin signaled readiness to resume talks after Witkoff visited Moscow on Oct. 21.

Zelensky said the meeting should focus on immediate steps toward de-escalation. "The agenda should cover the following issues: initial steps toward de-escalation, the main priorities for the Ukrainian side, particularly security priorities, and, more broadly, ending this war," he said. "We hope for a result regarding energy and at sea, an exchange of prisoners, and a discussion of the possible format for a trilateral meeting at the leaders' level."

A senior Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent that the first meeting is unlikely to produce results, arguing that the sides need to reestablish a shared understanding after the long pause. The official said prisoner exchanges and sector-specific ceasefires, including one focused on energy infrastructure, are priorities. A recent example of a limited ceasefire was the temporary truce in Oleshky, a city in Kherson Oblast that has been effectively blockaded by Russian forces.

A meeting between Putin and Zelensky remains a much more uncertain prospect. The two leaders have not met since 2019, and Moscow continues to insist that Zelensky travel to Russia for direct talks, a proposal Kyiv rejects. During his Oct. 27 call with Finland's president and Norway's prime minister, Putin said Zelensky could come to Moscow. Trump, however, told reporters on Oct. 27 that a meeting between the two leaders could happen "soon."

Major disagreements over territory and security guarantees remain obstacles to any settlement. The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected a ceasefire and demanded that Kyiv surrender the parts of Donbas that Russia has failed to capture militarily, while Ukraine has called for a ceasefire along the current front line. "Russia links the issue of territories to ending the war, security guarantees, and the possible forms those guarantees could take," Zelensky said. He added that partners had avoided an in-depth discussion of territorial concessions because they know it is a red line for Ukraine. "This is an issue that can only be discussed by the leaders of the countries at war, and only at their level," he said. Zelensky said Ukraine had been prepared to discuss a buffer zone or demilitarized zone on both sides of the line of contact as a possible compromise, but the dispute over control of the territory remains unresolved.