Russia-Ukraine talks planned for November in UAE: Kremlin

Moscow and Kyiv have confirmed that Russia, Ukraine and the United States will return to the negotiating table in November, with the Kremlin announcing on Friday that trilateral talks are planned for the first half of the month in Abu Dhabi.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters the talks 'will take place in a trilateral format,' according to Al Jazeera. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had spoken with US envoy Steve Witkoff after the envoy's meeting with President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg this week, and that technical negotiations would happen 'in the first half of November, and as early as possible.'

US-brokered talks earlier this year made little progress before lapsing as Washington's attention shifted to its war on Iran. Expectations remain slim. Russia's previous demands — including large territorial concessions and a pledge from Kyiv not to join NATO — still stand, and Putin said in a Thursday television interview that talks should focus on long-term security arrangements for a final peace deal rather than a 'short' truce. Zelenskyy wants strong security guarantees for Ukraine, ten years of funding for its army, and a role for Europe at the table.

The announcement came alongside several striking moves. The White House said First Lady Melania Trump had brokered a 'localised ceasefire' in the occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky. Trump also eased sanctions on Moscow and struck a deal to buy 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel, with the first shipment on its way to New York. Moscow and Kyiv each exchanged 270 prisoners of war on Friday, and Ukraine's acting prosecutor general said more than 19,000 civilians, including 762 children, have died since the full-scale invasion began more than four years ago.