A fourth round of consultations between Russia, the US and Ukraine is beginning in Abu Dhabi. The previous three series of talks were held behind closed doors: on January 23-24 and February 5-6, and then on February 17-18 in Geneva. In the first two stages the Russian delegation was led by Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces; in Geneva it was led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Medinsky will head the delegation this time as well. The president discussed the composition of the Russian group on November 6 with permanent members of the Security Council. Besides Medinsky and Kostyukov, it includes Deputy Foreign Ministers Mikhail Galuzin and Sergey Ryabkov, as well as Deputy Head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff Yuri Zhigarlovsky.
The presence of two Foreign Ministry representatives is explained by the stated agenda. Sergey Ryabkov oversees North Atlantic and arms control issues and devoted a significant part of his career to OSCE matters. "The participation of another of my deputies is entirely natural," Sergey Lavrov explained the day before.
The main topic of the meeting is not only the parameters of a possible settlement, but also security guarantees for the parties, as well as the broader security architecture in Europe. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov announced at the end of October that the level of the issues under discussion was being raised, when the dates of the meeting were not yet known. "This concerns the security of our country and Ukraine after the end of military actions," he specified.
President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who along with the US leader's special envoy Steve Witkoff will represent the US, also spoke of forming a comprehensive security architecture. "Our focus is not only on ending the fighting, but also on shaping the broader security architecture needed to ensure that once it ends, it never resumes again," he wrote on social network X.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made similar remarks on the eve of the meeting. He considers the issue of security guarantees key.
"The very agenda of the talks in Abu Dhabi puts first the issues of the security of Russia, Ukraine and security in this region as a whole. We only welcome such an approach," Sergey Lavrov responded.
According to him, the discussion in Abu Dhabi could become a foundation for the future. "The understanding that everyone shares is that the talks are devoted to agreeing on the principles that will be approved at the conclusion of negotiations on a full settlement," the foreign minister added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirmed the theme of security guarantees. He specified that the details would be discussed behind closed doors.
One of the main questions is whether those doors will be opened to Europeans. The EU did not hide its desire to wedge into the trilateral format: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on November 8 that representatives of several European states, including his country, intend to come to the UAE. Envoys from Brussels will also be there.
However, Moscow does not consider it possible to change the agreed format. Moreover, Europe's behavior is, to put it mildly, contradictory. On the one hand, it says that peace must be negotiated. On the other, on the eve of the talks it stages military maneuvers with an unambiguous message. Exercises Koalicja involving representatives of 11 NATO countries have started in Poland. All of them are part of the "coalition of the willing" - Kiev's closest allies. The contingents of these states are expected to land on Ukrainian territory as part of a post-war settlement.
"It is absolutely obvious that the West still does not want to take Russia's legitimate security concerns into account and continues to spin the spiral of escalation. London and Paris hope, through the deployment of 'multinational forces' in Ukraine, to preserve a bridgehead for confrontation with the Russian Federation and for inflicting a military defeat on our country," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
She called the start of the exercises on the eve of the resumption of discussions in the UAE symbolic: "This once again confirms that Europeans have nothing to do at the negotiating table."
Nevertheless, before the start of the trilateral meeting, the US will hold talks with representatives of the EU, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and NATO. They will also talk with the Ukrainian delegation.
It will be led by the head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, Rustem Umerov. He was also Medinsky's main counterpart in three rounds of bilateral talks in Istanbul last year. At that time, approaches to a settlement were discussed, memorandums were exchanged, and issues of a ceasefire, prisoner exchange and humanitarian interaction were raised. At the same time, positions on the key conditions of a future agreement remained far apart.
Along with Umerov will be the head of the presidential office, Kirill Budanov*, and the head of the Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada, David Arakhamia, who headed the negotiating delegation back in 2022. The participants include First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian leader's office Sergey Kislitsa, Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Vadim Skibitsky and former Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Andrey Gnatov.
Exactly what proposals the sides will present to each other is not disclosed in advance. As the Kremlin said, the participants will discuss security guarantees, de-escalation, humanitarian issues and further steps toward a settlement. And the US allows that if progress is achieved at the consultations, it will be possible to move to a broader, multilateral format with the direct participation of European states.
Nevertheless, all details will be discussed behind closed doors. The talks are expected to last two days.
* Added in Russia to the list of terrorists and extremists.