Trump Says Moscow and Kyiv Are Ready to Negotiate, Potential Deal Could Include Europe

Key Facts

US President Donald Trump said Ukraine and Russia were ready to negotiate, adding that a potential deal could extend beyond the war in Ukraine to include Europe, according to UNN. He said a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States would be held on Monday and Tuesday, according to his remarks. Trump said, "I made phone calls today, and there will be more calls tomorrow," referring to diplomatic efforts to end the war. He described the possible agreement as a "very big deal" that could concern all of Europe, along with Ukraine. The remarks give the expected talks a broader scope than a ceasefire, but details of the potential deal remain unclear. Later reports said the planned trilateral talks would be held in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11.

The US envoy said the Abu Dhabi talks would focus on postwar security, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and next steps toward peace. These issues provide an initial agenda for discussion, while no agreement on a specific settlement framework has been announced. According to the Associated Press, the talks would be the first trilateral peace discussions since February. After meeting Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Trump had repeated that any deal would cover more than Ukraine and perhaps all of Europe. He said, "There will be a deal, and it will be a big deal, and it will include more than Ukraine." But the Kremlin said it had no details about the potential deal Trump had referred to.

Territory remains a major point of disagreement between the parties, with Axios reporting that their positions on the issue remain far apart. Russian attacks and President Vladimir Putin's refusal to agree to a ceasefire have also raised doubts about the prospects for progress. Trump's statement that both sides were ready to negotiate offered no indication that these disagreements had been resolved. On the Ukrainian side, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country wants specific Western security guarantees explaining how support would continue after the war. He added that what matters is for the outcomes to be clear and written down, saying, "What matters is that it is clear on paper."

Trump envoy Jared Kushner linked broader talks involving Ukraine, NATO and European allies to security guarantees for Kyiv and the creation of a wider security structure for Europe. He said Thursday's talks were "productive" and focused on those two issues. The proposal reflects the presence of European security concerns alongside arrangements for postwar Ukraine. In Brussels, officials from the United States, Britain, France, Germany and the European Union discussed postwar reconstruction, 2027 financing and security guarantees for Ukraine. The European Commission said reaching an agreement "requires a lot of work," adding that it had seen no major movement from Russia.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had presented the US side with proposals for possible realistic outcomes, and that Kyiv wants the UAE talks to be productive. He also discussed preparations with leaders of Nordic and Baltic countries, who affirmed the need for European countries to take part in matters related to the continent's security. Zelenskyy stressed that security guarantees and Ukraine's economic recovery could not be discussed without European representatives. He said his country was ready to take the necessary steps and that its proposals were clear and had been delivered to the US side. These positions place European participation and written guarantees among the issues Kyiv wants included in the talks.

Zelenskyy set out Ukraine's priorities for the talks as a halt to attacks on energy facilities and critical infrastructure, the resumption of grain shipments through the Black Sea, and an expansion of prisoner exchanges. The demands come as attacks on infrastructure continue: Kyiv said Russia launched about 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles across 9 regions during the night of November 2 to 3, 2026. The attacks caused emergency power outages, according to the Associated Press. Kyiv also wants written guarantees specifying what would happen if Russia resumed its attack, who would take action, by what means and when. Zelenskyy said, "If Russia starts attacking again, what will happen? Who will do what, by what means, and when?"