Witkoff announced the meetings on X, saying they form part of Donald Trump's efforts to end the war. He said the discussions will focus on post-war security, de-escalation, humanitarian initiatives and next steps toward peace, and that he expects to build on progress made in Kyiv, Oslo and St Petersburg.
Before the Abu Dhabi round, US negotiators will hold meetings in Brussels with representatives of France, Germany, Britain, the European Union and NATO. Those talks are expected to cover security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe's post-war security architecture and economic options for supporting Ukraine's reconstruction.
According to Reuters, the United States will be represented in Abu Dhabi by Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the US president's son-in-law.
The resumption of three-way talks gained momentum in the second half of October after contacts between Moscow and Kyiv and the US administration. Vladimir Putin met Witkoff in St Petersburg on October 21, and the envoy had earlier met Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo.
Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian president, said a new round could take place in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November and that one topic could be creating a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the war ends.
Zelensky said the discussion concerned security guarantees for Kyiv similar to those in NATO's Article 5, and for the first time allowed that they could also be provided to Russia. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said the guarantees should require Ukraine to abandon NATO membership and the deployment of foreign troops on its territory.
The previous round of talks between Russia and Ukraine mediated by the United States took place in February 2026, Deutsche Welle reports.