New round of talks in Abu Dhabi: Zelensky names the two conditions without which there is no peace deal

Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the US have agreed to meet at technical level in the first half of November, in Abu Dhabi. That's according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who hopes it will be followed by a meeting of the three countries' leaders.

"The plan is to meet in the first half of November, as early as possible, of course," Zelensky said by video link to the Hudson Institute. But he immediately added that a lot depends on Russia, and pointed out that a similar meeting planned for this month never took place. So there have been promises of a meeting before.

Zelensky also spelled out Kyiv's two conditions: any peace deal must include security guarantees for Ukraine and ten years of funding for the Ukrainian army. He also called for Europe to have a seat at the table, rather than waiting to be told the outcome.

Moscow uses a different vocabulary. Putin confirmed he is ready for new talks, but said the goal must be a lasting end to the war, not a short-lived ceasefire. The talks, in his view, should cover security guarantees for both Russia and Ukraine, as well as the wider security order in Europe. On the key issues - the future of the occupied Ukrainian territories and the guarantees for Ukraine - there is still no agreement.

The meeting was set up by the Americans. Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff met Zelensky in Oslo on Tuesday, and Putin in St. Petersburg a day later, where Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner also sat in on the talks. Kyiv has already said it is ready to discuss various forms of ceasefire, including a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure.

At the same time, Zelensky publicly contradicted Trump. "The speed restrictions on Starlink and Starshield are still there, and the speed has not been restored to its previous level," he said, even though the US president had claimed the services were fully restored. Ukraine is also waiting for a shipment of air defence interceptors agreed earlier - while massive Russian drone and missile attacks are almost daily.

The war is now in its fifth year. The Balkans know what peace deals stitched together far from the battlefield look like - the Dayton Agreement was negotiated on a US military base. The question for Abu Dhabi isn't whether there will be a meeting, but whether anyone there will ask the people living on the front line.