In brief
U.S., Russia, and Ukraine are set to resume their trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi after a brief but limited ceasefire in Oleshky. U.S. President Trump remains hopeful of a breakthrough, while Russian officials signal they will not halt combat. Experts view the talks as unlikely to produce immediate results amid deep misalignments.
U.S., Russia and Ukraine are set to resume a second day of talks in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain’s capital city, on Tuesday, November 9, 2026, after a brief ceasefire in Oleshky that yielded only limited humanitarian cooperation.
The meeting follows a short pause that the U.S. government described as a tentative victory for diplomatic engagement, even as Russian officials have made clear that Moscow is not prepared to step back from combat operations before the next round of talks.
The U.S. delegation, led by U.S. President Trump, has expressed optimism that the new session could bring about a “big, beautiful agreement” the party says “might involve all of Europe.” Trump met with Russia’s special presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Washington on November 5, a meeting that the U.S. press releases described as a step toward that goal.
"We are confident that this will lead to a big, beautiful agreement that might involve all of Europe,"— President Trump, as reported by Xinhua.
In late October, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Russia’s position against any ceasefire that would give the Ukrainians a respite. Peskov said Moscow does not plan to halt combat operations before the trilateral talks, a stance that underscores the apparent lack of goodwill on Russia’s side.
"The Kremlin does not plan to halt combat operations ahead of the trilateral talks,"— Dmitry Peskov, as quoted by Xinhua.
Russian delegation leader Vladimir Medinsky will again command the talks in Abu Dhabi. Analysts at the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War note that Medinsky’s role in the previous Geneva talks in February 2026 was marked by attempts to stall the process by discussing the abstract “historical roots” of the war, a strategy that signals the Kremlin’s reluctance to engage in good‑faith negotiations.
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences scholar Zhang Hong noted a clear misalignment among Russia, Ukraine and the United States, adding that the conditions for a high‑level meeting among the leaders of the three countries are not yet in place.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha says the Abu Dhabi negotiations will focus on a range of issues, including security guarantees, de‑escalation in the Black Sea, the energy sector, prisoner exchanges and preparing the agenda for a potential leaders’ meeting.
Ukrainian experts remain cautious. Former Ambassador to the EU Andriy Veselovsky told the news agency Ukrinform that the trilateral talks are unlikely to bring immediate results. Veselovsky cautioned that Ukraine would use the discussions to try to convince supporters of President Trump of the need for continued backing.
Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanov, echoed the skepticism, emphasizing that the talks will probably not resolve the conflict quickly and that Ukraine will be looking for long‑term strategic gains.
In the meantime, the Kremlin has confirmed that the format for the upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi will remain strictly between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, with European participation still uncertain. According to a recent report from Arab News, Moscow stresses that the Abrahamite negotiations will stay trilateral despite pressures from European partners.
The brief ceasefire in Oleshky—an area on the Russian‑occupied eastern border—illustrates the limited humanitarian cooperation that has emerged so far. While brief and localized, the truce provided a fleeting window for aid deliveries and medical assistance, but officials on all sides have suggested that this snippet of cooperation is unlikely to translate into a sustained peace plan.
Given the deep-rooted mistrust and divergent objectives, most analysts believe that the Abu Dhabi talks are more likely to set the stage for future negotiations rather than offer an immediate solution to the Ukraine conflict. The outcome of this second‑day session will hinge on whether the parties can bridge the gap between Russia’s insistence on no combat pause and Ukraine’s push for a comprehensive ceasefire that offers tangible security guarantees.
The world now watches with cautious interest as the trio of leaders heads into the negotiations, hoping that the diplomatic momentum gained in previous meetings can finally translate into a definitive resolution of a war that has taken a heavy toll on both sides.
