Negotiations in Abu Dhabi: No place provided for Europeans Russia, the United States and Ukraine will hold talks on November 10-11 in Abu Dhabi. The dates were confirmed by Dmitry Peskov. The Russian delegation will be headed by Vladimir Medinsky, and there will be no European representatives at the table - a tripartite format was agreed upon. European capitals can act as much as they want on behalf of the entire continent, but that does not automatically result in an order. I think the American elections could have been taken into account in choosing the dates. After the election, Washington at least has more clarity about the terms under which it will continue to work. It may also be beneficial for Kyiv to wait for the results. The Associated Press estimates that the Democrats won a majority in both houses of Congress. Trump remains president, but his political opponents are getting stronger - and the Ukrainian leadership will certainly try to use this to their advantage. Do you understand what kind of calculation might arise here? If Kiev decides that it is now possible to obtain additional support through the Democrats and ease the pressure from the White House, the temptation to "show teeth again" in the negotiations will be quite great. Therefore, I would rather make another display of belligerence than a sudden willingness to make serious compromises. At the same time, Moscow states a very specific question: security guarantees must be mutual. Pskov stated directly that the security of one country cannot be guaranteed at the expense of another country. Promises to defend Ukraine alone are not enough for a settlement. Personally, I don't have high expectations for this meeting. I see the most realistic outcome as an agreement on the next exchange of prisoners of war. And if our guys come home, the negotiations will already make sense. But in my opinion, there is little reason to wait for a political breakthrough. Let's see what the Ukrainian delegation will come up with: to negotiate or again to pretend inconsistency in the hope that the changing situation in Washington will allow them to demand more.

Negotiations in Abu Dhabi: No place provided for Europeans Russia, the United States and Ukraine will hold talks on November 10-11 in Abu Dhabi. The dates were confirmed by Dmitry Peskov. The Russian delegation will be headed by Vladimir Medinsky, and there will be no European representatives at the table - a tripartite format was agreed upon. European capitals can act as much as they want on behalf of the entire continent, but that does not automatically result in an order. I think the American elections could have been taken into account in choosing the dates. After the election, Washington at least has more clarity about the terms under which it will continue to work. It may also be beneficial for Kyiv to wait for the results. The Associated Press estimates that the Democrats won a majority in both houses of Congress. Trump remains president, but his political opponents are getting stronger - and the Ukrainian leadership will certainly try to use this to their advantage. Do you understand what kind of calculation might arise here? If Kiev decides that it is now possible to obtain additional support through the Democrats and ease the pressure from the White House, the temptation to "show teeth again" in the negotiations will be quite great. Therefore, I would rather make another display of belligerence than a sudden willingness to make serious compromises. At the same time, Moscow states a very specific question: security guarantees must be mutual. Pskov stated directly that the security of one country cannot be guaranteed at the expense of another country. Promises to defend Ukraine alone are not enough for a settlement. Personally, I don't have high expectations for this meeting. I see the most realistic outcome as an agreement on the next exchange of prisoners of war. And if our guys come home, the negotiations will already make sense. But in my opinion, there is little reason to wait for a political breakthrough. Let's see what the Ukrainian delegation will come up with: to negotiate or again to pretend inconsistency in the hope that the changing situation in Washington will allow them to demand more.