The Norwegian prime minister tempers expectations regarding peace negotiations for the war in Ukraine: “I would be cautious”

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told POLITICO that the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Abu Dhabi, scheduled for November 10–11, should be viewed as a first step, not as the moment when a decisive solution is reached. The agenda could include ceasefires in the Black Sea and for energy infrastructure, freezing the front line, prisoner exchanges, and security guarantees.

“I would be cautious,” Støre said, according to Politico, when asked what expectations he had of the latest talks scheduled in the United Arab Emirates.

“Abu Dhabi represents an intermediate stage, and a concrete result of this should be the continuation of discussions in the very near future,” the Norwegian prime minister stressed.

According to Støre, the Abu Dhabi agenda could include discussions about a ceasefire in the Black Sea area – to allow the safe transport of grain –, a ceasefire targeting energy infrastructure, freezing the front line, and other “confidence-building measures,” such as prisoner exchanges.

The Norwegian prime minister said that Vladimir Putin appears rational and willing to talk, but so far has not provided evidence that he truly wants peace.

Støre urged Europe to coordinate its messages and play a direct role in the negotiations, warning that NATO’s future and the European security architecture must not be turned into bargaining chips.

Trump optimistic about the Abu Dhabi talks

Negotiating teams from Moscow and Kyiv are due to sit down with representatives of the United States at the negotiating table in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. It is the first meeting in this tripartite format since February and comes after a month of intensified diplomatic efforts.

Støre’s reaction comes in the context of his having tried last month, together with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, to save the stalled peace process by hosting a meeting in Oslo attended by Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, the next day, Witkoff stunned the whole world when he told Putin that he had a “humanitarian spirit.”

U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week that the peace deal was close and would be “big and beautiful,” but warned that Ukraine could have “a slightly different shape” after the conflict. The statement was made in an interview with the “60 Minutes” program, broadcast by CBS News.