Russia sends senior delegation to Abu Dhabi talks led by Vladimir Medinsky

Russia has dispatched a higher-ranking delegation to trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi with Ukraine and the United States, the Kremlin naming a team that includes senior diplomats and military-intelligence figures.

Delegation and mandate

The delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky, an adviser to President Vladimir Putin. Accompanying him are Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergey Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin, Admiral Igor Kostyukov — head of the GRU — and Yuriy Shigarlovski, deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff.

All five were summoned to a meeting with President Putin and the permanent members of the Security Council on 6 November to discuss the upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi.

Medinsky previously represented Russia during negotiations with Ukraine in 2022 and again led a Russian delegation in Geneva in February 2026. He described those talks as "tough but substantive."

Admiral Igor Kostyukov has led the GRU since 2018 and was the head of the Russian delegation at earlier Abu Dhabi talks in late January and early February 2026. He has been subject to European Union measures connected to the 2018 poisoning of the Skripals and to a cyber operation against the German Bundestag.

Sergey Ryabkov has served as a deputy foreign minister since August 2008 and is a long-time specialist on relations with the United States, arms control and non-proliferation. Born in Leningrad (today Saint Petersburg), he has been in the diplomatic service since 1982 and led Russia's delegation in Geneva in January 2022 when Moscow sought limits on NATO infrastructure.

Mikhail Galuzin, another deputy foreign minister, took part in talks in Istanbul in 2025 and Geneva in February 2026. A November 7 report by analysts noted Galuzin pressed for removal of the so-called "root causes" of the war; those rounds produced only a prisoner-exchange agreement.

Analysts are divided on prospects. International-relations specialist Vladimir Frolov called the Russian team a "serious team," but warned substantive agreements will be difficult. Ivan Frolov said Moscow is unlikely to accept a ceasefire without a prior political settlement and suggested limited deals are possible, such as an "energy ceasefire" or progress on humanitarian measures like prisoner exchanges. Abbas Gallyamov expressed skepticism that this attempt will yield a breakthrough, noting no figures in the delegation whose presence points to likely success.

Photo: press material from the event