Zelenskyy Hopes Abu Dhabi Talks Will Open Way to Putin Meeting
Photo: Ralf Hirschberger/AFP via Al Jazeera (Zelenskyy and Merz in Berlin, 3 November)
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the next round of talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi could finally open the way to a meeting of leaders, including Vladimir Putin. Speaking in Berlin on Tuesday, he said the adviser level talks on 10 and 11 November are part of a wider push to end a war that has now run for well over four years.
The Ukrainian president was in Berlin for a visit that had not been announced in advance, for security reasons. Standing beside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he said Ukraine is counting on the Abu Dhabi format, and its other diplomatic steps, to lead to a three way meeting at the level of leaders.
Al Jazeera reported that the talks will be mediated by the United States and will bring together advisers from Ukraine, Russia and the US. They will be the first direct trilateral talks of this kind since February.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the new round on Monday. He said the talks would focus on post war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and the next steps toward peace. Zelenskyy added two pressing items of his own: an energy ceasefire, and a truce in the Black Sea so grain exports can move safely.
That second point matters far beyond Ukraine. When Black Sea shipping is hit, grain prices rise and food supplies tighten in countries that depend on imports, a pattern seen again this week as Russian strikes hit a Ukrainian aid centre and, in a separate overnight attack, a hospital in Kharkiv.
Merz was blunt about what he expects from Moscow. He said it is important that Russia finally and seriously engages in talks about a ceasefire and a peace agreement, and added, in plain words, that he does not see that happening so far. Reuters reported his warning that Russia must show it is serious at Abu Dhabi.
Zelenskyy also shut down two ideas that keep coming up in public debate. He said he sees no point in a phone call with Putin, because it would turn into a formal, dry conversation and another history lecture, not real steps to end the war. He also said Ukraine is not inviting Putin to Kyiv, because Moscow would not come, and inviting him just to be refused would be destructive. Ukrainska Pravda reported his words from the Berlin news conference.
On the Russian side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed a delegation will attend Abu Dhabi, led as before by former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky, according to state news agency TASS. That at least keeps the format alive, even if the two presidents have had no direct contact since the full scale invasion began in February 2022.
Europe, though, is uneasy about its place in all this. European governments insist they must be involved, but they are unlikely to sit at the Abu Dhabi table itself. Instead, US envoys are due to meet representatives from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, NATO and the European Union in Brussels this week to talk about security guarantees for Ukraine and the wider post war shape of Europe. It is the same question that runs through the European troops rehearsing a Ukraine deployment: who actually guarantees any deal once it is signed?
Zelenskyy also put a figure on what Ukraine needs next year, saying it needs an additional 70 billion euros from European countries. Merz knows that money is becoming harder to find at home, where the cost of living is biting and parties opposed to funding Ukraine are doing well in the polls.
The calendar ahead is crowded, and each date is a test of whether Abu Dhabi is real progress or just another round of talks:
- 4 November: US envoys meet European allies in Brussels on security guarantees
- 10 and 11 November: Ukraine, Russia and US adviser talks in Abu Dhabi
- 18 and 19 November: possible Trump, Xi and Putin talks on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen
- 13 to 15 December: G20 summit in Florida, where it is still unclear if Putin will attend
For now, the hope in Berlin is simple. If the working level talks in Abu Dhabi make real headway on a ceasefire and on grain and energy, the leaders meeting Zelenskyy wants becomes possible. If they do not, Ukraine heads into another winter of strikes on its power grid with diplomacy no further forward.
Sources
Al Jazeera: Ukraine's Zelenskyy hopes Abu Dhabi talks will open path to Putin meeting
Ukrainska Pravda: Ukraine-Russia talks: Zelenskyy rejects phone call with Putin, calls for meeting
Watch for the Brussels meeting on 4 November, and then for what actually comes out of Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November.
#Ukraine #Zelenskyy #Putin #AbuDhabi #Russia #PeaceTalks #WorldNews
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