Lavrov on the Europeans in Abu Dhabi: 'They'll sit in a hotel'

European representatives have been left out of the talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on the arrival of European representatives in Abu Dhabi, where talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States are taking place. 'As for the Europeans' participation, well, they flew off to Abu Dhabi. Let them sit in a hotel there,' the minister said, TASS reports (the item was published by Gazeta.Ru). Later, following a joint meeting of the foreign policy and defense chiefs and security council secretaries of the CSTO countries, he briefly repeated: 'Let them sit in a hotel' (Life.ru).

Moscow's position: Europe is not a participant in the format

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko notedthat Europeans are not taking part in the trilateral talks and urged not to overestimate the fact of their presence in Abu Dhabi. In his words, Europe has so far acted as an obstacle to the talks: representatives of European countries 'sit behind the scenes and pull the strings,' not to seek ways toward a settlement but to pressure the Ukrainian and US delegations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also ruled out the participation of European representatives in the trilateral talks, explaining that European countries have their own channels of engagement with Kyiv and Washington, but the agreed format of the meeting provides for the presence of only Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

Europeans' consultations with Kyiv and the European Commission's peace terms

Before the trilateral talks began, representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, NATO and the European Commission held consultations with the Ukrainian delegation. Following the meeting, the European Commission issued a statement with terms for peace in Ukraine: any peace arrangements must respect sovereignty, territorial integrity and the state's right to make its own decisions.

Context: the dispute over a ceasefire and Europe's role

Lavrov also made it clear that Moscow does not intend to accept the European countries' demand for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine: in his assessment, Brussels is seeking a pause in hostilities to buy time (Life.ru). Earlier it was reportedthat the United States intended to persuade Russia to allow Europe into the talks on Ukraine — however, the statements by Lavrov, Grushko and Peskov on November 10 show that the Russian side does not support this format at the current stage. Thus, the arrangement actually confirmed in Abu Dhabi is: the talks are proceeding in a trilateral format, while the European delegations, having held consultations with Kyiv and voiced their terms through the European Commission, have not been admitted to the format itself.