Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, Denmark’s Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus, Minister of Economy and Interior Pia Olsen Dyhr, Denmark’s Minister of Business and Competitiveness Martin Lidegaar attend a meeting at Christiansborg in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 10, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Mads Claus Rasmussen via Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday (November 10, 2026) he was very happy with messages he was getting from the U.S. in terms of moving towards a resolution of the more than four-and-a-half-year-old war with Russia.
Mr. Zelenskyy was addressing journalists after a day of talks with Nordic leaders in Denmark, as a first day of U.S.-led trilateral discussions between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. wrapped up in Abu Dhabi.
“I see changes. I am very happy about what I hear,” Mr. Zelenskyy said when asked about the recent messages by U.S. presidential envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
Mr. Zelenskyy has been careful to smooth over what has often been a volatile relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, particularly after a February 2025 Oval Office meeting during which Mr. Trump accused him of being ungrateful.
The talks in Abu Dhabi are the first three-sided discussions to be held since February. Mr. Zelenskyy described the first day as constructive and substantive.
Later, in his latest comments to journalists, Mr. Zelenskyy said the agenda of the talks in Abu Dhabi had included formulating a new security architecture for Europe, an idea raised earlier on Tuesday (November 10, 2026) by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Mr. Zelenskyy said the notion was “very difficult”.
“We are all very cautious with this topic because nobody really understands 100% what they want. I think we understand, but nobody saw the documents, what the Americans discussed with the Russians,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.
He said the idea was first raised by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2021 and the administration of President Joe Biden at the time was cautious about it as the sequence of what had to be done first was important.
“Everybody is ready for dialogue. First, stop the war in Ukraine. Second, security guarantees for Ukraine. Third, maybe some dialogue about the topic of security in Europe, in the world,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.
“This sequence is very, very important in this case.”
Earlier, Mr. Lavrov had said Moscow would not agree to an immediate ceasefire without knowing what would happen next.
He said it would be wiser to discuss the outlines of the future security architecture in Europe first, and then a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Published – November 11, 2026 05:44 am IST
