Putin aide Medinsky to head Russian delegation at trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has announced that a Russian delegation will arrive in Abu Dhabi on 10-11 November to take part in Ukraine-US-Russia talks. The head of the delegation remains Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency RIA Novosti
Quote from Peskov: "The Russian delegation will arrive in Abu Dhabi on 10-11 November and will participate in trilateral negotiations. Regarding the chief negotiator in this process for the Russian side, it remains my colleague Medinsky."
Details: Asked whether there will be any contact between Putin and the Russian negotiators before they depart for Abu Dhabi, Peskov replied that there are no fixed plans yet.
However, according to Peskov, in general virtually all the members of the Russian delegation already "regularly report" on current issues to Putin and "receive the appropriate instructions".
Background:
- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in October that a trilateral meeting of technical teams regarding the end of the Russia-Ukraine war, to be attended by representatives from Russia and the US, was planned for the first half of November.
- Zelenskyy later said it would depend on the Americans whether the meeting would be held.
- Ukraine sought to bring forward the Ukraine-US-Russia negotiations to be held in Abu Dhabi by at least a week and to involve an EU representative in the talks.
- Zelenskyy said he was ready to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Istanbul to discuss the terms for ending the war.
- On 28 October, Zelenskyy said that following a conversation between European leaders and Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, there were indications that Russia is serious about a meeting between the negotiating teams in Abu Dhabi.
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