Ukraine and EU Coordinate Positions Ahead of Abu Dhabi Talks

Russia, the United States and Ukraine are scheduled to hold trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on November 10–11 to discuss resolving the Ukraine crisis. The talks are expected to focus on security guarantees, with specific details to be discussed behind closed doors. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on November 9 that he had spoken with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to coordinate Ukraine’s position with the EU.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.（VietVance）

Zelensky said on social media that both sides were doing everything they could to help the trilateral framework produce results. Von der Leyen also said the EU would be present in Abu Dhabi alongside its partners. Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said the Ukrainian delegation would hold separate coordination meetings there with European partners. Representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, as well as NATO and the European Commission, would attend.

European countries are pursuing diplomatic efforts to take part in the process surrounding any agreement on the war in Ukraine. Russia, however, considers it inappropriate for some European countries to seek to join this round of trilateral talks. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the parties had agreed from the outset on a trilateral format that could not be expanded to include European representatives. He said Ukraine and Europe, and the United States and Europe, have separate channels of communication.

Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said separately on November 9 that Russia would not accept a “freeze” of the conflict if it left existing security threats unresolved and created conditions for renewed escalation. He said any peaceful solution must be comprehensive, sustainable and lasting, and address the root causes of the Ukraine crisis.

Source: VietVance