Finding a solution to the war that has pitted Russia against Ukraine for more than four years: this is the ambitious objective of the peace talks which open on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. France 24 lists five things to know about these tripartite discussions planned between Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

Published on: 10/11/2026 - 07:19 Modified on: 10/11/2026 - 08:18

Donald Trump promised something “big”. The talks which open on Tuesday, November 10 in Abu Dhabi to try to put an end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia will mark a turning point, predicts the American president, in the maneuver of these meetings. After receiving Vladimir Putin's emissary, Kirill Dmitriev, on Thursday, November 5, Donald Trump announced that a "major" agreement with Moscow was in preparation, concerning "more than Ukraine" and could "encompass all of Europe".

See alsoWar in Ukraine: American first lady Melania Trump as mediator?

A tripartite format

This meeting first marks the resumption of trilateral peace negotiations interrupted since February 28, when the United States entered war against Iran, diverting its attention from Ukraine.

The head of Canadian diplomacy also underlined on Monday "the importance" of the resumption of trade. “The first important point is the meeting itself (because) it has been a while since the parties have come together around the table and so I want to emphasize the importance of the meeting in Abu Dhabi,” Anita Anand said in an interview with AFP on the sidelines of a G7 meeting. “I am confident that the parties are ready to discuss a potential settlement (...), which is positive,” she added.

These peace discussions will be held exclusively between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, under American mediation, within the framework of a tripartite format, without the participation of European officials. This configuration is not new. A previous round of trilateral talks had already been organized in the Emirati capital at the start of the year, without allowing concrete progress on the main points of contention, particularly territorial, between kyiv and Moscow.

Neither Zelensky nor Putin will make the trip to Abu Dhabi. On the Ukrainian side, kyiv plans to send a delegation led by chief negotiator Roustem Oumerov. The Russian delegation will, for its part, be composed exclusively of military representatives receiving their instructions directly from Vladimir Putin. The United States will be represented by envoys and negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

Sidelining Europeans

Already sidelined from negotiations on Ukraine with the diesel agreement between the American president and his Russian counterpart, Europeans must now accept the idea of ​​not being invited to the discussion table.

Certainly, delegations from European authorities will be on the trip. An EU team led by Bjoern Seibert, chief of staff to Ursula von der Leyen, and Anna Maria Boura, main foreign policy adviser to European Council President Antonio Costa, will be present. It will be joined by the E3 format, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Anxious to keep face, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, also made a point of reminding Sunday on RTL and Public Senate that the Europeans, including France, would be associated with this two-day meeting. “In recent weeks, the Europeans have been vocal. They have explained to the American mediators that no discussion concerning the future of this continent can ignore what our expectations and demands are,” he said.

Moscow's response was not long in coming. “What will happen in Abu Dhabi in the coming days are trilateral negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, with the mediation of the United States,” responded Monday the spokesperson for the Russian president, Dmitri Peskov, recalling the position of Russia which expressly worked for a tripartite format, de facto excluding the Europeans.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky nevertheless indicated on Monday that he had “coordinated” with the President of the European Commission. "Ursula [von der Leyen] and I have also coordinated our positions regarding the meeting in Abu Dhabi. We are doing everything to ensure that the trilateral format produces results," he said on X.

Jared Kushner, finally, wanted to reassure the Europeans by explaining to them last week that they would not be kept out of the broader diplomatic process. He further indicated that Washington intended to consult them closely on the sidelines of the negotiations planned in Abu Dhabi and that if progress was made, the discussions could evolve into a broader multilateral format, in which they would be directly associated. However, he did not specify whether this expanded format would take place in Abu Dhabi or at a later date.

European Allies Division

These exchanges come at a time when the Europeans are in disarray on the issue of negotiations on Ukraine. The Finnish President, Alexander Stubb, and the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Store, sowed division within the allies by taking the initiative to telephone Vladimir Putin on October 27 so that Europe would be part of the discussions. An approach which was not to the taste of certain European officials. Denmark, Sweden and Lithuania strongly criticized the move. The head of the Italian government Giorgia Meloni wrote a letter addressed to Antonio Costa. In her vitriolic missive, she said she regretted the “disorder” of diplomatic formats and called for the appointment of a special European envoy. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski followed suit, recalling that Eastern Europe must be taken into account. “The last thing we want is for Western Europe to deal with Russia over the heads of Eastern Europeans,” Radoslaw Sikorski insisted from Warsaw.

In his response, Antonio Costa agreed to put the issue on the agenda of this week's informal summit in Dublin, Ireland, which will be held immediately after the Abu Dhabi meeting.

Meeting on Monday at a G7 meeting in Paris, foreign ministers also included Ukraine on their agenda. According to diplomats, one of the objectives of the meeting is to maintain pressure on Moscow while mobilizing additional military, financial and energy support for kyiv.

Fears of Brussels and kyiv

Ukraine and several European countries fear that Washington will be tempted to press for an agreement that primarily meets Russian demands. The prospect of a hasty agreement, marked by substantial territorial concessions from Ukraine, is in fact widely feared.

EU members are also concerned about the establishment of a security architecture that is disproportionately favorable to Moscow's demands. When American President Donald Trump promises through his "grand agreement" with Russia to "encompass all of Europe", Europeans fear that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will redraw the security rules to their advantage by, for example, creating a zone of Russian influence at the gates of the EU, by limiting the presence of NATO in the East or by depriving Ukraine of real means to defend itself.

Read alsoG7 meeting: are the midterms reshuffling the cards of Donald Trump's diplomacy?

Possible prospects for agreement

Although Donald Trump expects “big” progress during these talks – remember that he promised to end the war in Ukraine at the start of his second term – the successes of these discussions could prove more modest. The meetings will first serve to gauge the willingness of each party to find solutions to the conflict. On this point, the Kremlin's repeated intransigence does not augur any notable change. These meetings could, however, lead to humanitarian measures, such as an exchange of prisoners or the protection of certain civil or energy infrastructures as winter approaches. We can also hope that red lines will be set on both sides of the border.

Finally, for Donald Trump, Abu Dhabi's objectives remain more personal. Above all, it’s about presenting yourself as a peacemaker. In difficulty since the rout of his party in the mid-term elections, the American billionaire hopes to capitalize on a success in Abu Dhabi and restore his tarnished image.

Keywords associated with the article

The content you are trying to access does not exist or is no longer available.