Russia and Ukraine have each named their negotiators for the Abu Dhabi peace talks on 10 and 11 November 2026. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov listed five Russian delegates on 7 November, and Kyiv confirmed the day before that Rustem Umerov will lead its team. A separate Xi-Trump-Putin summit remains unconfirmed.
These are working-level talks, meaning they are conducted by officials and advisers rather than by heads of state. They will be the first trilateral round between the United States, Russia and Ukraine since February 2026, and they are being held in the United Arab Emirates, which has mediated between Moscow and Kyiv throughout the war.
What Was Announced on 7 November
Peskov named Russia’s full delegation in remarks to the Russian news agency Interfax on Saturday 7 November 2026. Vladimir Medinsky, a presidential aide, will head it, as he did at Russia’s earlier talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in 2025.
The five-member list is the most detailed statement either government has made about who will be in the room.
| Name | Role as announced by the Kremlin |
|---|---|
| Vladimir Medinsky | Presidential aide; head of delegation |
| Sergey Ryabkov | Deputy foreign minister |
| Mikhail Galuzin | Deputy foreign minister |
| Igor Kostyukov | Head of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence directorate |
| Yury Zhigarlovsky | Deputy head of the General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate |
Yury Ushakov, the presidential aide for foreign policy, is not on the delegation but will oversee the negotiations, according to Peskov’s remarks. Reuters reported that Ryabkov is taking part in this process for the first time; that detail comes from a single news agency rather than from the Kremlin’s own list.
As of 8 November 2026, the Abu Dhabi round on 10 and 11 November is the only meeting in this process with a date confirmed by all three governments. Peskov first gave the timing at a briefing on 3 November, saying the talks would be held “next Tuesday and Wednesday”. United States special envoy Steve Witkoff had announced the round on 2 November.
Who Is in the Room for Each Side
The three delegations are confirmed to different degrees, and the difference matters for how much weight to put on each name.
| Delegation | Lead negotiator | Status of the confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | Vladimir Medinsky | Named by Peskov on 7 November, with four other delegates |
| Ukraine | Rustem Umerov | Confirmed by senior officials on 6 November |
| United States | Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner | Expected to attend, per a senior US official cited by Reuters; no formal announcement |
Ukraine’s team, as described by David Arakhamia, also includes Kyrylo Budanov, Serhii Kyslytsia and Dmytro Lytvyn. Arakhamia identified himself as a member as well.
Why Ukraine’s Lead Negotiator Was Reported Wrongly
Several outlets reported that Budanov would lead Ukraine’s delegation, and Kyiv has corrected that. CBS News was among those that named him as the lead.
Arakhamia, who heads President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s parliamentary group, told the Kyiv Independent on 6 November that “Umerov is head of negotiations”. Asked directly whether Budanov would lead, he replied: “No, it’s Umerov.” Lytvyn, Zelenskyy’s communications adviser, said there had been “no changes so far”, and that Budanov had only said he would attend.
Umerov is described by the Kyiv Independent as Ukraine’s primary negotiator and foreign intelligence chief. Budanov will be present but is not leading the team.
What Is on the Agenda, and What Is Not
Witkoff set out four areas when he announced the round. He said the talks would cover “post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace”.
“Security guarantees” is the term both sides use for commitments that would deter a future attack on Ukraine after any ceasefire. What those commitments would consist of, and who would provide them, has not been settled in any previous round.
- Confirmed by the US envoy: post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian measures and next steps.
- Named as the main obstacles: territorial disputes and Ukraine’s post-war security, according to Kushner.
- Reported but not officially confirmed: an energy and maritime ceasefire, further prisoner exchanges, and the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia. These agenda items come from single-outlet reporting.
- Not on the agenda: a leaders’ meeting. Zelenskyy has said territorial questions must be handled at leadership level, which places them outside a working-level round.
Speaking on Ukrainian television on 25 October, Zelenskyy said: “We are ready to talk. If it’s a territorial issue, it must be addressed at a leadership level.” He has also said that any negotiations about Ukraine’s future must include Kyiv.
The Leaders’ Summit Is a Separate Question and Is Not Confirmed
A proposed meeting between Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is a different track from Abu Dhabi, and no government has confirmed it will happen.
Asked by AFP on 4 November about Financial Times reporting that officials in Beijing, Moscow and Washington were working to schedule such a meeting, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said only that “China is in communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the three heads of state”. That is the extent of Beijing’s public position. Peskov said on 3 November that “work is under way to coordinate such a meeting” and that the Kremlin hoped to settle it “in the coming days”.
Reporting has placed a possible meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China. The dates of that summit are fixed and public, but the trilateral meeting is not.
- 14 to 16 November 2026: APEC ministerial meetings in Shenzhen.
- 17 to 18 November 2026: the APEC CEO Summit in Shenzhen.
- 18 to 19 November 2026: the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen, announced by the Shenzhen municipal government.
Those are APEC’s dates, not a summit date. No participant has confirmed attendance at a three-way meeting, and no venue or agenda for one has been announced.
The three governments also appear to want different things from it. Trump said last month that “if President Xi wants to have it, I’d have it”, and has indicated he would prefer to discuss nuclear disarmament rather than Ukraine. China’s foreign ministry declined to join trilateral nuclear disarmament talks “at this stage” in a statement last month. Putin raised the idea of a three-way meeting in a telephone call with Trump on 9 October, according to Wall Street Journal reporting; that account has not been confirmed by either government.
What the Earlier Rounds Produced
This process has a record, and it is a narrow one. Two rounds were held in Abu Dhabi and one in Geneva before the talks lapsed.
- 23 to 24 January 2026, Abu Dhabi: the first trilateral round. No ceasefire, settlement or formal agreement was announced. Control of the Donbas was the main point of contention.
- 4 to 5 February 2026, Abu Dhabi: the parties agreed to exchange 314 prisoners of war, 157 from each side. Witkoff called it the first such exchange in five months, and Russia’s defence ministry confirmed the exchange had taken place. No agreement on territory or a ceasefire followed.
- 17 to 18 February 2026, Geneva: the last round before the process stalled.
In other words, the single concrete outcome of three rounds was a prisoner exchange. Moscow and Washington also agreed in Abu Dhabi to restore high-level military-to-military contact, according to United States European Command.
Analysts quoted by RFE/RL set expectations low for the coming round. Heather Conley said: “There will not be a breakthrough but possibly a follow-on meeting will be scheduled.” Former United States ambassador William Taylor framed the test as a question — “Has Putin decided to agree to a cease-fire?” — and argued that a ceasefire without credible guarantees would not protect Ukraine.
What Is Still Disputed
The positions that blocked agreement in February have not publicly changed.
- Territory: Russia has demanded that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the whole of the Donetsk region, a condition Kyiv has rejected. Russia’s stated position also includes Ukraine not joining NATO.
- A ceasefire: Russia has not agreed to a general ceasefire. The Kremlin has said a local truce does not indicate readiness for a wider one.
- Who guarantees any deal: United States officials met French, German, British, European Union and NATO representatives in Brussels on 4 November on security guarantees and reconstruction. Those governments are not at the table in Abu Dhabi.
- Europe’s place: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Xi told him Europeans “must sit at the table” on Ukraine. That is a secondhand account of a private conversation and has not been confirmed by Beijing.
The war has continued throughout the preparations. Zelenskyy said Russia launched 289 drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles overnight into 3 November, and that strikes on 2 November killed at least 31 people at a school distributing aid in Zaporizhzhia. Those figures come from the Ukrainian side and have not been independently confirmed. Russian drone strikes on bridges across the Dnipro in Kyiv in early October showed the same pattern of talks and strikes running in parallel.
A six-day local ceasefire around Oleshky, in the Kherson region, ended on 2 November. Ukraine accused Russia of using it to reinforce positions; Russia has not confirmed that. The White House said First Lady Melania Trump would bring Russian and Ukrainian representatives together in Washington on 5 November to discuss a local ceasefire in Kherson, without naming the attendees.
Separately, Washington has eased some economic pressure on Moscow this autumn. The Russia sanctions waiver signed on 16 October 2026 suspended most of the Graham Act’s measures, and a Treasury licence issued on 9 October authorised limited imports of Russian-origin diesel. Neither step was presented by either government as a condition of the Abu Dhabi talks.
Abu Dhabi Peace Talks: Questions Readers Are Asking
The answers below reflect what the three governments had confirmed as of 8 November 2026.
When Are the Abu Dhabi Peace Talks?
They run on 10 and 11 November 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Witkoff announced the round on 2 November and the Kremlin confirmed the timing on 3 November.
Who Is Leading Ukraine’s Delegation?
Rustem Umerov. Reports that Kyrylo Budanov would lead were corrected by Ukrainian officials on 6 November; Budanov is attending but not leading.
Who Is in Russia’s Delegation?
Peskov named five members on 7 November 2026: Medinsky as head, deputy foreign ministers Sergey Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin, GRU chief Igor Kostyukov, and Yury Zhigarlovsky of the General Staff.
Is the Xi-Trump-Putin Summit Confirmed?
No. Beijing has said only that it is in communication with the other parties, and no date, venue or attendance has been announced. The APEC leaders’ meeting in Shenzhen takes place on 18 and 19 November 2026, but that is an APEC date, not a summit date.
What Did the Previous Rounds Achieve?
One prisoner exchange. The February 2026 round in Abu Dhabi produced a swap of 314 prisoners of war, 157 from each side. No round has produced a ceasefire or any agreement on territory.
Will European Governments Take Part in Abu Dhabi?
No. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO were consulted separately in Brussels on 4 November. The Abu Dhabi round is limited to the United States, Russia and Ukraine.
