On Russia-Ukraine, a chance for diplomacy

In Moscow and Dublin, Kyiv and Brussels, the task now is to build trust, which can enable a good-faith negotiation and the compromise the world has been waiting for.

Nearly half a decade of conflict has taken a toll — political, economic and humanitarian — on Russia, Ukraine and the wider world.

AI Narration

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3 min readNov 13, 2026 06:00 AM IST First published on: Nov 13, 2026 at 06:00 AM IST

On the face of it, the gains from two days of talks between Russian and Ukrainian envoys — with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, Washington’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, present –– are rather modest. The two countries have agreed to a prisoner swap, the largest since the conflict began in 2022. On more fundamental issues, such as territory, duration and terms of a ceasefire and what a post-war European security architecture will look like, both sides said there was some progress. But there were no major announcements. Despite the lack of a breakthrough at Abu Dhabi, however, there is reason to believe that the diplomatic needle could move soon.

Kushner and Witkoff are in Moscow, reportedly to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to add European representatives to the talks. A question hangs over that request: Who will represent Europe, given that there are multiple views on the continent and within the European Union on how to deal with Russia? After Moscow, the two will go to Dublin and meet Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Both sides remain seemingly entrenched in their positions: While Kyiv and its staunchest supporters in Europe want a ceasefire in place before discussions on the post-war security architecture, Moscow has sought to link a cessation of hostilities with the broader question of NATO expansion and what it sees as its sphere of influence. In other words, while one side sees the ceasefire as a precondition, the other views it as intertwined with the bigger unresolved questions. Trump’s White House has leaned towards the latter.

Nearly half a decade of conflict has taken a toll — political, economic and humanitarian — on Russia, Ukraine and the wider world. That there have been no major attacks in recent days by either country is something to be welcomed, cautiously. The White House, reeling from a Republican drubbing in the midterm polls, will want to present a peace deal to the American people sooner rather than later. Russia, if a ceasefire is achieved, can act as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington. Europe, too, needs stability on its eastern front. The recent increase in defence budgets notwithstanding, the continent still relies on the American security umbrella. New Delhi’s proposal for de-escalation was welcomed by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. A cessation of hostilities would lead to the easing of the supply-chain constraints in energy and foodgrain, both essential for India’s economy. In Moscow and Dublin, Kyiv and Brussels, the task now is to build trust, which can enable a good-faith negotiation and the compromise the world has been waiting for.