Russia Names Medinsky to Lead Delegation at Abu Dhabi Talks on Nov. 10-11

Russia will send Vladimir Medinsky, a Kremlin aide and former culture minister, to head its delegation at U.S.-Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11, the Kyiv Post reported. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Russia's participation and Medinsky's role, according to Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.

The choice matters because Medinsky also led Russia's team at the 2025 Istanbul talks, which the Kyiv Post says produced little beyond prisoner exchanges. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has meanwhile said a negotiated peace may not be reachable.

What is on the agenda in Abu Dhabi

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed the meeting on Tuesday. He said the three sides would discuss security arrangements for the period after the war, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and further steps toward peace, according to the Kyiv Post.

The outlet reports that security guarantees for Ukraine after the war are believed to be a central theme. It notes that Finland and Norway recently acted as mediators in calls with the Kremlin. The talks follow a renewed U.S. push to end the war and continuing energy discussions with Russia.

Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, are expected to attend. It is unclear who will lead Ukraine's delegation, the Kyiv Post said.

Who Medinsky is

The Kyiv Post describes Medinsky as an ultranationalist Kremlin hawk. He was born in 1970 in what is now Ukraine's Cherkasy region, but he has long identified with Russia and spent much of his life in Moscow. He served as Russia's culture minister from 2012 to 2020 and has been an aide to President Vladimir Putin since 2020.

According to the outlet, he has promoted Russian historical claims on Ukraine and rejected Ukrainian sovereignty, arguing that the “Ukrainian idea” was invented by the Austrian Empire. The Kyiv Post also cites a 2023 New York Times opinion piece that said Medinsky and a team of assistants were likely the ghostwriters of Putin's historical writings.

What happened at the Istanbul talks

In May 2025, Europe gave Putin an ultimatum to move toward a ceasefire or face heavy sanctions, the Kyiv Post said. Putin instead proposed resuming the 2022 Istanbul format of talks and did not address the ceasefire demand. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to the meeting expecting to meet Putin, who skipped it and sent Medinsky.

Serhiy Kyslytsya, then Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister, said Medinsky threatened the Ukrainian delegation in the first round. Several rounds followed over the summer. The main concrete result was a “1000-for-1000” prisoner swap announced in May, plus similar exchanges in later months, while the war continued without a ceasefire or the sanctions the ultimatum had threatened.

Why it matters: low expectations as winter nears

For readers following the war, the main signal is that officials are not predicting a breakthrough. At a Sunday press briefing, Rubio said, “I don't know if negotiated peace is achievable in Ukraine,” adding that the U.S. is trying to find out. He also said he did not think anyone was claiming a settlement was imminent. The Kyiv Post reports that Rubio cast doubt on peace before 2027.

The winter is also a pressure point. The Kyiv Post cites earlier reports that Kyiv and Moscow each expect the other to crack in the cold months. Kyiv claims to have obtained Russian plans to disable up to 90 percent of utility services in subzero temperatures to force Ukraine to capitulate. A UN report has called such an approach a possible crime against humanity, the outlet noted. Russia's position on those claims was not given in the report.

What happens next

The Abu Dhabi meeting is set for Nov. 10-11. The Kyiv Post also reports that a possible U.S.-China-Russia meeting in Shenzhen is under discussion, and that Putin has reportedly proposed making a Ukraine settlement a central topic. Chinese leader Xi Jinping reportedly dismissed the idea, according to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who recently met him.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Kyiv Post