The key facts

  • The first day of talks in Abu Dhabi concluded on November 10, with no official statement on the outcomes
  • Zelensky called the talks constructive but noted the difficulty of dialogue with the Russians
  • Security guarantees, Ukraine's reconstruction and prisoner exchanges were discussed; Russia demanded a closed portion of the talks

First day ends without official outcomes

On November 10, the first day of peace talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine concluded in Abu Dhabi. The participants did not issue an official statement on the results of the meeting. According to Kun.uz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (who, according to the outlet, did not take part in the meeting itself) said the talks had gone

Assessments from the parties and the substance of the discussions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the first day as constructive and substantive, but stressed: It is hard to reach agreement with the Russians. They are, to put it mildly, not our best friends. According to Ukrainian media cited by Kun.uz, the talks addressed security guarantees — including for Russia — as well as Ukraine's postwar future: the country's reconstruction and the formation of a new security architecture in conditions of a crisis of trust. The issue of prisoners of war was a separate topic: the parties are expected to announce a major exchange.

A closed-door regime

Even before the talks began, Russia demanded that part of them be held behind closed doors. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in advance, regarding the new security architecture: We do not discuss any models publicly. This explains why there have been no detailed comments from the parties after the first day: substantive information is so far coming only through unofficial sources and participants' assessments, and no concrete decisions have been announced. Meduza, in the headline of its article, also notes that there are no detailed comments from the parties and that there likely will not be any for now.