In brief: President Volodymyr Zelensky held a 90-minute conversation with senior US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Wednesday, Nov. 4 to prepare for trilateral talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi set for next week. During the call, Ukraine presented its peace proposals to Washington and called for “ironclad” post-war security guarantees. Zelensky also pressed for Patriot interceptors as Ukraine faces a critical shortage amid intensifying Russian ballistic missile strikes, having received just 24 from the US over 90 days.
President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to senior US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Wednesday, Nov. 4, in what he described as a “very detailed” 90-minute telephone conversation.
According to Zelensky, the two sides discussed preparations for team-level trilateral talks with Russia, scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11.
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During the call, Ukraine presented its negotiating proposals to the American side, while simultaneously raising critical air defense needs, including urgently needed Patriot interceptors ahead of winter.
Continued work on bilateral tracks with Washington, including the “Drone Deal” format, was on the agenda as well.
“The pace of negotiations needs to be as intense as possible to end this war as quickly as possible. Ukraine is ready to take the necessary steps, our proposals are clear,” Zelensky said.
Witkoff and Kushner had not publicly commented on the conversation at the time of report.
Diplomacy on several fronts
The call came as Zelensky arrived in Madrid as a guest of the 30th Ibero-American summit at the personal invitation of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
During the summit, Zelensky is also set to meet King Felipe VI, with air defense and defense production central to his agenda.
At the same time, Ukrainian negotiators are holding talks in Brussels.
Zelensky said his team had a “productive” meeting on Wednesday with representatives of the US, the EU, France, the UK, Germany, NATO, the World Bank and the business community on post-war reconstruction.
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The European Commission is hosting the talks through Nov. 4-5.
On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Ukrainian delegation is set to discuss security guarantees separately with the US, the UK, France, Germany and NATO, Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, previously said.
First trilateral meeting since February
The Abu Dhabi talks, scheduled for Nov. 10-11, will be the first trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the US since February.
Witkoff previously confirmed that the negotiations will focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and next steps toward peace.
Previous rounds took place in Abu Dhabi in January and February, and another was held in Geneva in February, before the US-Israeli war on Iran stalled the process.
Kyiv had pushed to hold the next round sooner, while Moscow proposed mid-November.
Meanwhile, Zelensky’s appeal for interceptors comes as Ukraine struggles to defend against Russian ballistic missiles. On Oct. 15, a source told CNN that Ukraine had exhausted its stocks of US-made Patriot interceptors.
Around the same time, Kyiv faced disruptions to its Starlink and Starshield satellite services, as well as concerns over US restrictions on intelligence sharing.
According to Zelensky in late October, Ukraine had received only 24 Patriot interceptors from the US over 90 days, despite needing around 350 a month.
Kyiv has since requested the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Poland to provide 10% of their existing Patriot and IRIS-T interceptor stocks in exchange for future deliveries.
On Oct. 30, the State Department authorized a Foreign Military Sale of 500 PAC-3 MSE missiles to Ukraine, together with spare parts and logistical support, at an estimated cost of $2.1 billion.
Although the US has approved the sale, Zelensky warned that deliveries could take years, possibly leaving Kyiv without the urgently needed weapons as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure.
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