Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday, Nov. 4, that he had spoken for 90 minutes with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, before planned negotiations involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia. The trilateral talks are scheduled for Nov. 10 and 11.
In a post on X, Zelensky described a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, that brought together teams from the United States, the European Union, France, the United Kingdom and Germany. NATO, the World Bank and representatives of the international business community also participated. He said discussions centered on Ukraine’s recovery after the war.
Zelensky said another Brussels meeting was scheduled for Nov. 5 to address security guarantees for Ukraine. He urged negotiators to accelerate their efforts toward ending the conflict and said Ukraine was prepared to take the steps required. Ukrainian proposals had already been provided to the American side, he added.
Air defense was another subject of the discussions, according to Zelensky, who identified it as a major priority. He said Ukraine needed Patriot missile systems to defend lives against Russian attacks and called for continued work with Washington across bilateral areas of cooperation. He also stressed that security guarantees for the period after the war must be firm.
Witkoff had announced Monday that Abu Dhabi would host the trilateral negotiations the following week. He said discussions with Zelensky and European partners would cover Ukraine’s security, reconstruction after the conflict and economic opportunities that could help support the rebuilding effort.
The diplomatic efforts come as Trump seeks an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which is nearing five years since Russia’s invasion. Zelensky has warned that Russia has sought to carry out additional strikes against Ukrainian energy and logistics targets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle to resume the talks the following week, according to his foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov. Ushakov relayed that position to reporters after Putin met with Witkoff last month.
Before that meeting, Putin said in televised comments that he was also prepared to examine the possibility of restoring relations between Washington and Moscow and discuss the Iran war, The Associated Press reported. Ushakov said the meeting with Witkoff included detailed discussions of major joint economic projects with potential for cooperation between the United States and Russia.
