Rubio Says Abu Dhabi Russia-Ukraine Talks Hinge on Security Guarantees

Washington

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Nov. 8 (local time), in a Q&A with reporters at Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida, that Russia-Ukraine negotiations are starting in Abu Dhabi and that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will attend. Rubio said the central agenda item is what security architecture Ukraine and Europe will have after the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a Security Council meeting on the 6th that he had called in colleagues who will take part in the negotiations; presidential aides, deputy foreign ministers and General Staff officers sat in on the meeting.

Source: U.S. State Department, Secretary of State's remarks to the press

Rubio's account of the Abu Dhabi talks

 

Asked questions on his way to the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris, Rubio described the Abu Dhabi negotiations. He said the talks begin "tomorrow" in Abu Dhabi and that Kushner and Witkoff will be there. Rubio said he expects some progress may be made in Abu Dhabi.

Rubio said a recurring theme in the Russia-Ukraine negotiations is the question of what security architecture Ukraine and Europe will have once the war ends. He added that Ukraine will also be on the agenda because Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is attending the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris.

Initial security proposals briefed, nothing finalized

 

Rubio said President Donald Trump was briefed last Thursday or Friday on initial ideas for security guarantees. He added that nothing has been finalized yet.

The United States will act as mediator in the talks. In a Nov. 2 post on X, Special Envoy Witkoff said "The United States will mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi," advancing President Trump's mission to end the war. Witkoff said the discussions will focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and other matters.

https://x.com/SEPeaceMissions/status/2117393678083792909

Schedule of the talks

 

In his Nov. 8 Q&A, Rubio said the talks begin "tomorrow." Witkoff announced the dates as Nov. 10-11. At the Security Council meeting on the 6th, Putin said the talks would begin in the United Arab Emirates "next Tuesday," which is Nov. 10.

Prior consultations with Ukraine and Europe

 

Before the talks, Kushner said in a Nov. 5 post on X that the U.S. held "productive and substantive" discussions in Brussels with Ukraine, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European partners. The topics were "two essential and interlinked elements of a lasting peace": security guarantees for Ukraine and a broader European security architecture.

https://x.com/jaredkushner/status/2118460496563122535

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Nov. 4 post on X that he had held a "very detailed, hour-and-a-half-long conversation" with Special Envoy Witkoff and Kushner. Zelenskyy said a meeting in a "trilateral format at the team level" between Ukraine, the United States and Russia would take place "in less than a week."

https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/2118067876695564358

Oct. 21 Putin-Witkoff meeting and the discussion on resuming talks

 

Russia signaled it could resume trilateral negotiations around Nov. 10 at a meeting in St. Petersburg on Oct. 21. Putin received Special Envoy Witkoff that day at the Konstantinovsky Palace. Witkoff had met the day before in Oslo, Norway, with Zelenskyy and representatives of European countries, NATO and the European Commission.

In comments after the meeting, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin told Witkoff that Russia was, in principle, ready to resume trilateral negotiations around Nov. 10. Ushakov described the central topic of the negotiations as building a security framework for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends. Ushakov said Witkoff replied that President Trump would welcome this decision.

Kushner took part by video link because he was unable to travel for health reasons. Ushakov described the meeting as the ninth between Putin and U.S. representatives and said it lasted nearly three hours. In his opening remarks, Putin thanked President Trump for his attention to resolving the Ukraine crisis and said he understood the issue was important to Trump particularly for humanitarian reasons.

Ushakov said the participants continued to discuss ways to achieve peace, following the Oct. 9 phone call between Putin and Trump. Ushakov said Putin also briefed Witkoff on the situation along the line of contact. Putin said Russian forces hold the strategic initiative and are continuing their offensive in the main directions.

Much of the conversation was spent on implementing an agreement to supply Russian diesel fuel to the United States and world markets. Ushakov said the agreement came out of the Oct. 9 call between the two leaders and that practical work began after the U.S. administration lifted some sanctions on Russian diesel. In his opening remarks, Putin said he wanted to hear Witkoff's assessment of the situation in the Middle East and Iran, and he also named a possible meeting in China as a topic of conversation.

Source: Kremlin, Ushakov commentary (Oct. 21)

Putin's remarks at the Security Council meeting

 

The Kremlin posted on its website a transcript of Putin's meeting with Security Council members on the evening of Nov. 6 (8:30 p.m. Moscow time). Putin said the main item on the agenda was food security, but added that trilateral negotiations would begin in the United Arab Emirates next Tuesday. Putin thanked the UAE leadership for consistently supporting efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis and for helping resolve humanitarian issues, in particular humanitarian exchanges.

In the Kremlin's transcript, part of Putin's remarks after this point is marked as omitted ([...]). Putin said the negotiations were set for Tuesday, so he had called in colleagues who will take part, and proposed discussing the matter briefly before the food security discussion.

Source: Kremlin, meeting with Security Council members

Composition of the Russian delegation

 

The attendee list published by the Kremlin includes permanent members of the Security Council: Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Federation Council Chair Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Chair Vyacheslav Volodin, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Also present were presidential aides Vladimir Medinsky and Yuri Ushakov, and Deputy Foreign Ministers Mikhail Galuzin and Sergei Ryabkov. From the military, Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff and Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and Yuri Zhigarlovsky, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff, were present.

The meeting at which Putin said he had called in those taking part in the negotiations was attended by two presidential aides, two deputy foreign ministers and two General Staff officers. The Kremlin did not separately say that this list is the composition of the negotiating delegation. Kostyukov led the Russian negotiating team at the trilateral security working group in Abu Dhabi in January.

Russian delegation at the earlier Abu Dhabi meeting

 

Russia's delegation to Abu Dhabi was military-centered in January. After Putin's Jan. 22 meeting with Special Envoy Witkoff, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the first meeting of the Russia-U.S.-Ukraine trilateral security working group would be held in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23. Ushakov said the Russian negotiating team would consist of senior Defense Ministry officials and be led by Admiral Kostyukov, head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff.

Source: Kremlin, Ushakov commentary

Ushakov said the meeting lasted about four hours and that Kushner and White House senior adviser Josh Gruenbaum also took part. Ushakov said the U.S. side relayed what was discussed at the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in Davos, and that the Russian side used that as the basis for deciding its next steps.

Ushakov said participants in the meeting reaffirmed that a lasting settlement would be difficult without resolving the territorial question on the basis of the formula agreed in Anchorage. According to Ushakov, Putin stressed Russia's serious commitment to a political and diplomatic settlement and said that for as long as that does not materialize, Russian forces, holding the strategic initiative on the battlefield, will continue to pursue the goals of the special military operation.

Ushakov said a meeting of the heads of the Russia-U.S. bilateral economic working group would also be held in Abu Dhabi at the time. The heads of that group were Kirill Dmitriev and Steve Witkoff.

Sources (KST)

 

• U.S. Department of State · 2026-11-08 (local) 2026-11-09 (KST) · Secretary of State Marco Rubio Remarks to the Press · https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/11/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-remarks-to-the-press-21/
• Kremlin · 2026-11-07 around 02:30 (KST; meeting held 11-06 20:30 Moscow time) · Meeting with Security Council members · http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/81192
• Kremlin · 2026-01-23 · Commentary by Aide to the President Yury Ushakov regarding Vladimir Putin's meeting with US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff · http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/79029
• Kremlin · 2026-10-21 16:25 (Moscow) · Commentary by Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov following Vladimir Putin's meeting with US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff · http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/81046
• President Zelenskyy on X @ZelenskyyUa · 2026-11-04 · https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/2118067876695564358
• Special Envoy Witkoff on X @SEPeaceMissions · 2026-11-02 · https://x.com/SEPeaceMissions/status/2117393678083792909
• Kushner on X @jaredkushner · 2026-11-05 · https://x.com/jaredkushner/status/2118460496563122535