After a nine-month pause, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators are set to meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11 for a new round of US-mediated talks. The composition of both delegations offers a glimpse into what each side hopes to achieve behind closed doors, and whether the discussions might extend beyond the immediate conflict.
Kyiv has largely kept the same team that participated in earlier rounds, signalling a consistent push for a ceasefire as a first step toward a broader agreement. Moscow, however, has added senior diplomatic and military figures, including Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who was instrumental in drafting Russia's sweeping security demands to NATO in late 2021, just before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ryabkov's presence raises the possibility that the Kremlin intends to broaden the talks to encompass Europe's wider security architecture. This comes after US President Donald Trump suggested that any eventual agreement could extend beyond Ukraine, a remark that has drawn attention in European capitals.
Ukraine: continuity in the ceasefire push
Ukraine's delegation will again be led by Rustem Umerov, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, who has played a central role in previous negotiations with Moscow. He will be joined by Kyrylo Budanov, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office; Davyd Arakhamia, leader of the ruling Servant of the People parliamentary faction; and Serhii Kyslytsia, first deputy head of the presidential office.
Arakhamia was in Washington last week, attending a White House meeting hosted by US First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday, following the humanitarian ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky. All four took part in earlier rounds, providing continuity as Kyiv seeks to secure a ceasefire and negotiate guarantees against renewed Russian aggression.
Ukraine has repeatedly indicated its willingness to consider different forms of ceasefire, while maintaining that any broader agreement must protect its sovereignty and provide credible security guarantees. The largely unchanged negotiating team suggests Kyiv intends to maintain that approach rather than substantially revise its position ahead of the renewed talks.
Russia: familiar face, significant addition
Russia's delegation will again be led by Vladimir Medinsky, a Kremlin aide and former culture minister who has represented Moscow in previous negotiations with Ukraine. Medinsky is a staunch supporter of the invasion and edited a three-volume textbook, Military History of Russia, published in January 2025, which portrays the war in Ukraine as a continuation of the Soviet struggle against Nazi Germany.
Aimed at schoolchildren, the book claims Russia was "forced" to invade Ukraine in February 2022 over NATO's expansion policy and the 2014 ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, which it labels "a Western-backed coup." The textbook calls Ukraine an "aggressive anti-Russian bridgehead" and emphasises "battlefield heroism," drawing parallels between modern Russian military tactics and those of the Soviet army during World War II, which Russia calls "the Great Patriotic War."
Medinsky's return suggests continuity in Moscow's negotiating approach, but the addition of senior diplomatic and military officials raises questions about the scope of the discussions. Among them is Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who is joining the Ukraine peace negotiations for the first time.
Ryabkov oversees Russia's relations with the United States, as well as arms control and non-proliferation issues, including those concerning Iran's nuclear programme. He was closely involved in Moscow's security demands to Washington and NATO in December 2021, which called for an end to further NATO enlargement, including Ukrainian membership, and restrictions on the alliance's military presence in eastern Europe, effectively seeking a rollback to its pre-1997 positions. Moscow also demanded limits on military exercises and missile deployments, alongside restrictions on nuclear weapons stationed outside their countries of origin.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has suggested that Moscow could use Ryabkov's experience with those demands to undermine Ukraine's efforts to secure post-war security guarantees. The US-based think tank also pointed to the negotiating records of other Russian delegates, including Medinsky and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, who have previously insisted that any settlement address what Moscow calls the war's "root causes." ISW argued that the composition of the Russian delegation raised doubts about the Kremlin's willingness to engage in meaningful negotiations.
Ryabkov's participation comes days after US President Donald Trump met Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House on Thursday and suggested that an eventual agreement could extend beyond Ukraine. "There's going to be an agreement. It's going ..." Trump said, without elaborating.
European leaders are watching the talks closely, with the EU having joined the Abu Dhabi process as Europe seeks a unified voice on Ukraine. The inclusion of Ryabkov, a key architect of Russia's pre-war security demands, suggests Moscow may be positioning for a broader discussion on European security, a prospect that will be met with caution in Brussels and other capitals.
