European Commission sets out conditions for peace agreements after meeting with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi

European Commission statement following the meeting in Abu Dhabi

Following a meeting between representatives of European countries and the Ukrainian delegation in Abu Dhabi, the European Commission issued a statement, in which it set out the conditions for any future peace agreements: they must respect Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence in decision-making, and provide reliable security guarantees for Kyiv. The text of the statement was published on the European Commission's website.

What the participants of the meeting agreed on

According to Gazeta.Ru, the statement notes that representatives of European countries, Ukraine and the United States met to 'continue close coordination of efforts aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine and creating conditions for a lasting peace.' The parties discussed ways to build effective risk-management mechanisms and prevent dangerous escalation, and also reaffirmed their commitment to developing a robust post-war European security architecture.

Context: parallel trilateral talks

The statement came against the backdrop of trilateral talks on resolving the conflict taking place in Abu Dhabi. The Russian delegation is led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, the Ukrainian delegation by Rustem Umerov, and the American side is represented by US presidential special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Earlier, Kushner spoke of 'good ideas' for overcoming the differences between Russia and Ukraine. Thus, the European demands regarding the terms of peace were voiced at a time when the talks themselves are being held without the participation of European countries — this is the key difference between the two tracks, which is evident from the publications about the meeting.