Donald Trump’s two most controversial diplomatic envoys could return to Kyiv after a fresh round of negotiations in Abu Dhabi, as Washington intensifies efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Steve Witkoff, the property investor, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a businessman, have been at the centre of an increasingly ambitious attempt to bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table.
Their possible visit to Ukraine, alongside a potential trip to Moscow, would signal a push to move discussions towards direct engagement with both presidents.
A US official told Axios that the pair could meet Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the Abu Dhabi talks. The envoys have reportedly held daily telephone conversations with Russian and Ukrainian officials over the past fortnight, sometimes speaking several times a day, as they prepare the next stage of negotiations.
“The relations we have built with Putin will be instrumental in these negotiations,” the official said.
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Witkoff and Kushner want to use the discussions to “crystallize” the decisions that Putin and Zelenskyy will ultimately have to make, the official added.
But the diplomatic effort faces a fundamental obstacle: neither side has indicated a willingness to surrender its core demands. Putin continues to seek control of the Donbas, while Zelenskyy has rejected giving up Ukrainian territory.
That leaves Washington attempting to bridge a divide that has resisted years of diplomacy and battlefield pressure. The involvement of two businessmen with limited traditional diplomatic experience has also raised questions about the approach, particularly given the complexity of negotiating security guarantees and territorial arrangements.
The Abu Dhabi working-level discussions, expected on November 10 and 11, are due to cover post-war security arrangements, de-escalation and humanitarian issues.
Kushner has also reportedly pressed Zelenskyy to suspend Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, a demand that would test Kyiv’s willingness to limit its military pressure while negotiations remain unresolved.
The envoys have held meetings with Ukrainian, Russian and European leaders in Oslo and St Petersburg as part of the effort to restart talks.
A return to Kyiv and Moscow would represent a significant escalation in the US-led diplomatic push. But with the central territorial dispute unresolved, the challenge will be turning repeated conversations into concessions neither leader has yet shown any appetite to make.
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