The key facts
- A trilateral meeting of Russia, Ukraine and the US is scheduled for November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi
- Peskov ruled out European participation: the format is Russia and Ukraine with US mediation
- Earlier, Jean-Noël Barrot said European countries intended to take part, without specifying how
The negotiation format has been set without Europe
Press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov commented on reports about the possible participation of European countries in the talks on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi: according to him, European representatives are not part of them. As reported by Life.ru, he emphasized that the meeting will take place exclusively in a trilateral format — between Russia and Ukraine with US mediation.
What Peskov said
“What will take place in Abu Dhabi is trilateral talks between Russia and Ukraine with US mediation. As for the Europeans, there are their own channels of communication between the Europeans and Ukraine, between the US and Ukraine, and, apparently, they are building their own communication channels. But we are talking about trilateral talks,” the outlet quoted the Kremlin spokesman as saying.
Paris's statement the day before
Peskov's statement came against the backdrop of remarks by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who said on November 8 that European countries intend to take part in the talks, without specifying exactly how. Thus, the parties' positions currently diverge: the European side declares its participation, the Russian side rules it out, and the practical mechanism Barrot had in mind remains unclear.
Delegation composition and agenda
The trilateral meeting is scheduled for November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi. The Russian delegation will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, the Ukrainian one by Rustem Umerov. The American side will be represented by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. One of the main topics of discussion will be security guarantees.
