Abu Dhabi talks: Kyiv cites Russian signals ahead of November meeting

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there are indications Russia is preparing to send a negotiating team to Abu Dhabi in November, following calls between European leaders and Vladimir Putin. He spoke to journalists after a briefing in Oslo on the planned meeting.

Zelenskyy said some of Kyiv's partners had spoken to the Russian leader on the morning of 27 October, conveyed a common position and heard his views. "The partners conveyed that there are indications that the Russians are serious about the meeting in Abu Dhabi," he said.

The agenda he outlined includes initial de-escalation steps, Ukrainian security priorities and ending the war. Technical groups could address de-escalation measures on energy and at sea, prisoner-of-war exchanges and the format for a trilateral leadership meeting, Zelenskyy said. "This is the agenda from our side, which we discussed with our American partners."

Security guarantees for Ukraine remain a live issue on both sides. Zelenskyy said Kyiv has put requests to Washington and European capitals, and that "Russia raises the same question, stating that they also need security guarantees."

The timing of any technical meeting rests with the United States, Zelenskyy said. During a 27 October call with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Putin spent almost the entire conversation on what Moscow calls the initial reasons for the conflict in Ukraine rather than on how to end it.