Kremlin confirms negotiations with Kyiv and Washington next week in Abu Dhabi

The Kremlin confirmed on Tuesday that Abu Dhabi will host next week negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States, to bring an end to the war that has been ongoing for more than four years.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had previously announced that the meeting would take place on November 10 and 11.

Witkoff met last month with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after all parties announced that the trilateral talks would resume in November, as Washington pushes to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, “A Russian delegation will indeed travel to Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11 to participate in the trilateral negotiations.”

The Russian negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, will once again lead the delegation, as he did during similar rounds of negotiations earlier this year that failed to achieve any breakthrough.

The 56-year-old Medinsky, who previously served as Minister of Culture, is known for his nationalist positions regarding Russian history.

He participated in the failed 2022 Russia-Ukraine talks at the outset of the war, and led the Russian delegation in Istanbul last year and in Geneva this year.

Born in Ukraine, Medinsky co-authored Russian school history textbooks that praise Moscow’s role in Ukraine.