Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi end day one with no breakthrough; second day set for Wednesday

Russia and Ukraine held their first US-mediated trilateral peace talks in nine months in Abu Dhabi on November 10, meeting for nearly four hours. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the first day as 'very productive', and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it 'constructive and quite substantive'; but no breakthrough was announced, and a second day of talks is scheduled for November 11.

What was discussed: humanitarian issues and security guarantees

According to Zelenskyy, the first day focused largely on humanitarian issues, including prisoner exchanges, the return of Ukrainian civilians held in captivity, and the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia, alongside security guarantees and steps toward de-escalation. The U.S. delegation was led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. According to a source in Zelenskyy's office, the Ukrainian delegation was led by Rustem Umerov and included Kyrylo Budanov and Davyd Arakhamia. Neither Rubio nor Zelenskyy attended the talks in Abu Dhabi in person.

On the morning of the talks, the Ukrainian team first met the U.S. envoys together with representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission. Reuters noted that a wide gulf remains between Russia and Ukraine on the terms of any deal: Moscow is demanding territorial and security concessions, while Kyiv refuses to surrender land or accept restrictions that could leave it exposed to another attack.

First trilateral meeting in nine months

This was the first meeting in this three-way format since February. The Associated Press noted that the war has lasted four and a half years, with analysts and humanitarian organisations estimating hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed and thousands of civilians dead; three earlier rounds of talks this year produced no visible progress, leaving expectations for a breakthrough cautious.

Speaking in Paris at a Group of Seven meeting, Rubio said the talks looked 'very productive' but urged patience: 'Obviously, there is still a lot of work to be done. This is not something that can be resolved in the next 24 hours.' The Kremlin described the first day as 'difficult but constructive'.

What happens next: day two

A second day of talks is scheduled for Wednesday morning, November 11, in Abu Dhabi. Whether the discussions produce concrete results on prisoner exchanges, humanitarian arrangements or security guarantees will be the key thing to watch; on the current statements from all sides, a comprehensive ceasefire or political settlement remains distant. Sources: Reuters; Associated Press.