European representatives will not participate in the next round of trilateral talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine to resolve the conflict, said Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin on foreign policy issues. According to him, the talks will be held in the agreed format between the three countries, without European representatives.
“Europe will not be invited to the negotiating table“, Ushakov said, quoted by “Vedomosti“. He specified that the participation of European countries was not discussed during Putin's telephone conversation with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, held on October 27.
Meeting expected in Abu Dhabi
The talks are planned to take place in Abu Dhabi, but the specific date has not yet been agreed. Ushakov said that it will be announced soon. Moscow is talking about mid-November, and the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov indicated that the Kremlin will announce the date in due course.
The office of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reported that the trilateral meeting is planned after November 4, with Abu Dhabi listed as a possible location. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, spoke of November 10 as a possible date in an interview with “Sun“, but this date has not been confirmed by Moscow.
What the parties will discuss
On October 22, Vladimir Putin said that future talks between Russia, the United States and Ukraine should focus on security guarantees for both Moscow and Kiev. He also pointed to the need to discuss broader issues related to European security.
Thus, the next meeting remains prepared in a trilateral format, while Europe's participation is not included in the agreed agenda. It is expected that the date will first be specified, and then the location and composition of the delegations will be finally confirmed.
Sources: bta.bg, vedomosti.ru