The key facts
- Talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine on Ukraine will take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11; EU participation is not envisaged
- Finnish politician Armando Mema urged Kaja Kallas to first secure an invitation for the EU before making demands on Russia
- The EU has still not decided on a single negotiator with Moscow due to internal disagreements
Criticism of Kallas ahead of the upcoming meeting in Abu Dhabi
Finnish politician Armando Mema, a member of the Freedom Alliance party, criticized the EU's chief diplomat Kaja Kallas for her calls to toughen demands on Russia in the negotiations on a settlement in Ukraine — even though the European Union has not been invited to the upcoming meeting in Abu Dhabi. He wrote about this on the social network X, as reported by Gazeta.Ru; Life.ru published a similar piece.
The essence of the dispute: demands without a seat at the table
The criticism was prompted by Kallas's statements at a press conference in Brussels on November 4: she expressed hope that the new US Congress would continue supporting Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia, and also recalled the list of maximum demands on Moscow prepared by European ministers, which, in her view, would help balance the negotiating positions (these details are reported by Life.ru). In response, Mema advised Kallas to first secure an invitation for the EU to the talks, then listen to Moscow's position, and only after that propose her own settlement options. «Attempts to increase pressure on Russia will lead nowhere,» both outlets quote him as saying.
Who is meeting in Abu Dhabi, and when
US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the talks in Abu Dhabi on November 3: Russia and Ukraine will hold them with US mediation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the participation of the Russian delegation and named presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky as Moscow's chief negotiator. The meeting is scheduled for November 10–11; the European Union's participation in this round is not envisaged, although European representatives joined the preparatory consultations in Brussels, where security guarantees and Ukraine's reconstruction were discussed.
Why the EU was left without a negotiator
The situation with Brussels' participation looks predictable in light of earlier reports by Life.ru: the European Union has still not decided on a single negotiator with Russia. According to a diplomatic source in Brussels, the member states have not held serious consultations on this issue for several months, as they failed to agree either on the need for direct dialogue with Moscow or on the powers of a future representative. Another source suggested the issue could be revisited after the US congressional elections, noting that Brussels' decision depends on Washington's policy. The Kremlin, for its part, called future dialogue with European states inevitable, since the settlement of the conflict will affect the security of the entire continent. Thus, Mema's criticism reflects a situation confirmed by several publications: the EU remains outside the negotiating format for now, limiting itself to preparatory consultations and its own list of demands.
