Ukraine Negotiations: Europe Joins US-Brokered Talks in Abu Dhabi
French officials confirmed participation in Tuesday's meetings, a move that contradicts Kremlin statements limiting the session to Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv.
By Hiroshi Ferrari ·
European officials will participate in the US-mediaded peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi this week, France’s foreign minister said Sunday.
Jean-Noël Barrot told French radio that France would attend and ensure Europe’s voice was heard. He did not specify who would represent Paris or whether European delegates would negotiate directly or observe.
The meetings are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Previous communications described the session as a trilateral format involving only Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov ruled out a European role earlier in the week, stating the three-way structure had already been agreed upon.
Peskov accused European governments of failing to designate a single spokesperson. He acknowledged that security discussions would eventually require European involvement. On Thursday, President Donald Trump met with Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev and stated that a coming agreement would involve more than Ukraine. He suggested it might involve all of Europe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that he had not received details of the agreement Trump referenced. Zelenskyy compared the situation to the 1945 Yalta conference, where Allied leaders settled the division of Europe without consulting all affected nations.
This will be the fourth round of talks brokered by the Trump administration. It is the first since Geneva in February. Earlier sessions made limited progress as the US administration focused on its war with Iran. Moscow agreed to return to the table after US envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg in October.
During that meeting, Putin announced the release of an American prisoner. This followed Trump’s lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel exports. Ukraine opposed the fuel sales, arguing they replenished Moscow’s war chest. Witkoff said the current agenda includes postwar security arrangements, de-escalation, and humanitarian issues.
Russia’s delegation will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, a hardline aide to Putin who has attended most talks since March 2022. For the first time, the Russian team includes Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin. It also includes Yury Zhigarlovsky, a deputy head of the General Staff’s operations directorate, and military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov.
The Institute for the Study of War suggested some of these Russian officials previously sought to slow talks or push harder on Moscow’s demands. Russia has demanded Ukraine cede large parts of its territory and renounce NATO membership. Zelenskyy has insisted that security commitments must specify who acts and how if Russia attacks again.
Former US ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst wrote for the Atlantic Council that Putin rejected every US proposal Kyiv accepted. He argued that the likely outcome is agreement on another round of talks. The Abu Dhabi meetings follow Democratic midterm victories, which Zelenskyy said could improve Ukraine’s chances for US aid.
Russia may also seek to push the Trump administration’s deal outlines before a Democratic-controlled Congress takes office in January. A trilateral meeting between Trump, Chinese President Xi, and Putin is under discussion for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen later this month.
As officials travel to Abu Dhabi, the war continues. Zelenskyy said Russia fired 36 ballistic missiles at the Kyiv area on Saturday night. Only four were intercepted. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of treating diplomacy as a form of aggression. The death toll from a guided-bomb strike on an aid distribution site in Komyshuvakha in southern Ukraine rose to at least 55.
