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Russia, Ukraine Hold First Peace Talks Since February

worldNov 12, 2026·368 words·3 min read

Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine met in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Tuesday for their first United States-mediated peace talks since February, aiming to end the war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Washington was represented by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, and envoy Steve Witkoff, and the first day of the two-day session lasted about four hours.

But few people expect a big result. Three earlier rounds of talks this year did not bring real progress. The two countries still want very different things. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to leave four regions. He also wants Ukraine to give up its plan to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military group of Western countries. Ukraine does not want to give up any land, and it wants a ceasefire, a stop to the fighting, first. Russia says no to this.

The talks were planned to continue on Wednesday, but the fighting has not stopped. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he did not have high expectations. Even Jared Kushner, one of the US negotiators, said the meeting could only help prepare for the next stage of talks.

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