The Kremlin confirmed the composition of Russia’s negotiating team on Friday ahead of trilateral peace talks in the United Arab Emirates. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency that the officials attended an operational session hosted by President Vladimir Putin.
Putin held a Security Council meeting in Moscow on Friday to discuss the negotiations and ways to enhance Russia’s food security.
Putin thanked the leadership of the UAE for supporting efforts to find a settlement to the Russia-Ukraine war and for Emirati assistance in addressing humanitarian issues.
Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky will head the Moscow delegation.
The Russian team includes deputy foreign ministers Sergey Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin. Igor Kostyukov, head of the military intelligence agency GRU, is also a member.
Yury Zhigarlovsky, deputy head of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate, rounds out the security representation. Peskov added that presidential aide for foreign policy Yury Ushakov will oversee the negotiations.
The Emirati capital will host the talks mediated by the United States beginning on Tuesday. Moscow and Kyiv previously held Washington-mediated negotiations earlier this year across three rounds.
Those sessions took place on January 23 to 24, February 4 to 5, and February 17 to 18. The first two rounds were held in Abu Dhabi, while the third took place in Geneva.
David Arakhamia, parliamentary leader of Ukraine’s ruling Servant of the People faction, confirmed the makeup of the Ukrainian team. He told The Kyiv Independent that Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, will lead the negotiating team.
The Ukrainian delegation also includes Arakhamia himself, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, and Serhii Kyslytsia, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Office. Dmytro Lytvyn, communications adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, completes the roster.
