On Wednesday, November 11, the second day of trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, the US and Russia on ending the war concluded in Abu Dhabi. The meeting lasted less than two hours - significantly less than the talks the day before.
The conclusion of the consultations was reported by Russian media, citing their correspondent in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
According to the agency, the negotiations on November 11 lasted slightly less than two hours. On the first day, November 10, the delegations worked for approximately four and a half hours, including a break.
After the meeting concluded, journalists are waiting for a statement from the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky. At the time of publication, no concrete results of the second day of talks or possible new agreements had been reported.
The conclusion of the trilateral consultations is also confirmed by Reuters, as cited by The Guardian.
Earlier, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service Rustem Umerov, said that the second day of negotiations would begin with a meeting of Ukraine, the US and Russia. After that, the Ukrainian delegation planned to hold separate consultations with European partners.
It is currently unclear whether the planned meeting with European representatives took place after the conclusion of the trilateral talks.
Main topics of the second day of negotiations
According to sources of RBC-Ukraine, on November 11 the parties planned to discuss a possible cessation of hostilities, energy infrastructure issues, and maritime security in the Black Sea.
At the same time, according to Politico, one of the main issues on the second day was to be territorial settlement.
The publication reported, citing American officials, that Washington sees some readiness of the parties to discuss possible compromises. However, no specific agreements on territories have been presented publicly.
The territorial issue remains one of the main points of disagreement between Kyiv and Moscow. Russia demands the transfer to it of areas of Donbas that remain under Ukrainian control. Kyiv rejects demands for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from these territories.
Results of the first day of negotiations
The first day of trilateral negotiations took place on Tuesday, November 10. It was the first face-to-face meeting between representatives of Ukraine and Russia with US mediation after a long pause.
According to Ukrainian media, the participants focused on security guarantees for Ukraine, the future architecture of European security, and Russia's demands. Humanitarian issues were also discussed, including the possibility of a large-scale prisoner exchange.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the first day of talks as constructive and quite substantive. At the same time, he stressed that negotiating with the Russian side remains difficult.
One of the possible practical outcomes of the negotiation process could be a large prisoner exchange. According to Zelenskyy, exchange options in the formats "1000 for 1000" or "1500 for 1500" are being discussed.
However, a final agreement on such an exchange has not been officially confirmed. Politico, citing an informed source, reported that humanitarian agreements are still being finalized.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the first day of consultations very productive but warned against expectations of a quick full-fledged peace agreement.
According to Russian media, during the first day of meetings, members of the Ukrainian and Russian delegations spoke in Russian. The negotiations were held in a closed format, without journalists present.
Who is participating in the negotiations
The Ukrainian delegation is headed by Chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service Rustem Umerov. It also includes Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov, his first deputy Serhiy Kyslytsia, head of the parliamentary faction "Servant of the People" Davyd Arakhamia, and deputy chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Vadym Skibitsky.
The American side is represented by Special Envoy of the US President Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Russian delegation is headed by Vladimir Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Representatives of European states, the European Union, and NATO do not directly participate in the trilateral negotiations with Russia. At the same time, the Ukrainian delegation holds separate coordination meetings with them.
In particular, on November 10, before the start of the trilateral talks, Ukrainian representatives met with officials from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, and the European Commission.
Official results of the second day of negotiations are expected after statements by delegation representatives.
Based on materials from: The Guardian / Reuters, RBC-Ukraine (Maria Kucheryavets), Politico
