Europeans may be present in Abu Dhabi during the Ukraine talks but not take part in them

Europeans are ready to wait on the sidelines

Trilateral talks between the delegations of the United States, Ukraine and Russia will take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11. The date was announced by Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, while Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskovconfirmed the participation of the Russian delegation: it will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. The Ukrainian delegation, according to Gazeta.Ru citing reports from November 6, will be led by the head of the presidential office Kirill Budanov (listed as a terrorist and extremist).

Conditions for Europe's participation and the parties' positions

Bloomberg, citing sources, reports that European officials will likely be present in Abu Dhabi but, as expected, will join the talks only if sufficient progress is achieved. According to the same sources, Russia continues to insist on the withdrawal of Ukrainian armed forces units from the remaining part of Donbas and Volodymyr Zelensky previously listed the topicsthat Kyiv intends to discuss: security guarantees, the country's reconstruction, an end to strikes on the energy sector and in the Black Sea, prisoner exchanges, and preparations for a leaders-level meeting.

What is known and what remains unclear

Thus, the format of the talks is only partially defined: the dates, the participation of Russia and the US and, according to reports, the composition of the Ukrainian delegation have been confirmed, while the actual participation of the Europeans has been made dependent on the course of the discussions. Reports about Russia's position on Donbas rely on unnamed Bloomberg sources and have not been officially confirmed; the final composition of the delegations and the agenda may be clarified by the start of the talks.