Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held an hour-and-a-half conversation with American envoys on Wednesday to discuss preparations for an upcoming trilateral summit. He released a statement on X late Wednesday detailing the contact.
,The talks focused on the Russia-Ukraine-United States summit scheduled for Abu Dhabi. Washington representative Witkoff announced earlier in the week that the United States would mediate working-level negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow on November 10 and 11.
,The discussions in the United Arab Emirates will center on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace. Russia and Ukraine previously held US-mediated peace talks earlier this year across three rounds in January and February.
,The first two rounds of those earlier negotiations took place in Abu Dhabi, while the third round was held in Geneva. Zelenskyy also reported that a substantive meeting on post-war recovery was held in Brussels.
,That Brussels gathering included representatives from Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, NATO, the World Bank, and the global business community. Another meeting will take place in Brussels concerning security guarantees for Ukraine.
,The negotiations must move forward at full throttle to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible, Zelenskyy said. He added that Ukraine is ready to take the necessary steps and has already presented formal proposals to the American side.
,Further air defence support for Ukraine remains an important priority that was raised during the discussions. Kyiv requires interceptors for Patriot systems to protect Ukrainian citizens from Russian attacks, according to the president.
,Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine must continue working on each of the bilateral tracks with the United States. This applies specifically to the drone deal format, and he expressed gratitude to Washington for supporting Ukrainian independence, the population, and diplomatic efforts.
,Peace has no alternative, and postwar security guarantees must be truly cast-iron, Zelenskyy said. His remarks followed a two-day trip to Germany where he met with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Foreign Minister Boris Pistorius in Berlin.
