The key facts
- The EU confirmed its participation in the talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11
- The European Commission will be represented by Björn Seibert, the European Council by Anna-Maria Boura
- European officials do not expect to sit at the table of the trilateral meeting
EU participation confirmed
The European Union will send its representatives to Abu Dhabi, where talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine are scheduled for November 10–11. The announcement was made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after a phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky. “The EU will be present together with our partners”, she wrote on the social network X.
Who will go and what they expect
According to Politico, the European Commission will be represented at the meeting by von der Leyen's chief of staff Björn Seibert, and the European Council by Anna-Maria Boura, chief foreign policy adviser to its president António Costa. The delegation will be joined by national security advisers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom. At the same time, as Life.ru reports citing a European official, the Europeans do not expect to take direct part in the trilateral meeting: the advisers will be in the building or near the venue of the talks, but not in the room at the table.
What role for Europe
Earlier, Life.ru reported what role Europe expects to play at the talks: according to Ukrainian media, Kyiv's representatives will be able to hold additional consultations with European national security advisers directly during the negotiation process. Thus, the confirmed format implies the EU's presence at the talks without a seat at the table — with the ability to advise the Ukrainian delegation during the meeting.
