The key facts

  • The talks in Abu Dhabi are scheduled for November 10, starting at 10:50 Moscow time
  • The Russian delegation of 11 people will be led by Vladimir Medinsky
  • Karasin called the group representative and said Russia was in a positive frame of mind

Updated delegation composition and a comment from the Federation Council

On November 10, talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, mediated by the United States, are scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi; the meeting is set to begin at 10:50 Moscow time. Senator Grigory Karasin, who chairs the Federation Council committee on international affairs, spoke about changes in the composition of the Russian negotiating group in a comment to aif.ru.

Who joined the Russian group

As reported by Gazeta.Ru, the Russian delegation will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. It also includes Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin, head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff Igor Kostyukov, and his deputy Yuri Zhigarlovsky. In total, the negotiating group has 11 members: five delegation participants and six experts. According to Karasin, the delegation includes representatives of several agencies, including staff from law enforcement structures and the FSB; he called the group representative and noted that its members have experience in political negotiations.

The Russian side's attitude and the backdrop surrounding the meeting

Karasin said that the Russian side set off for the meeting in a positive frame of mind. «We hope that some movement will take place, despite the Ukrainians' weak ability to reach agreements,» aif.ru quotes him as saying. Separately, Gazeta.Ru, citing the British side, notes that Britain previously warned of EU attempts to derail the talks in Abu Dhabi; this information comes from a single outlet and has not been confirmed by other sources in the compilation.