The European Union will send a joint team of senior representatives to the upcoming talks on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed. The meeting between delegations from the United States, Russia and Ukraine is scheduled for November 10 and 11.
“The EU will be present together with our partners,” von der Leyen said after a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. She said that freedom of navigation in the Black Sea must be restored and preserved, and that she had confirmed her support for Zelenskyy’s call for a ceasefire covering food and energy infrastructure.
The EU team will be led by Björn Seibert, von der Leyen’s chief of staff, and Anna-Maria Bura, chief foreign policy adviser to European Council President António Costa. The participation was also confirmed by a spokesperson for the European Council.
Representatives of France, Germany and the United Kingdom at the level of national security advisers will join the European team. NATO will send Chief of Staff Jeffrey van Leeuwen. This formula expands the initially planned trilateral format between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv.
EU insists on taking part in decisions on European security
“The EU must be present in such discussions,” European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said, commenting on discussions about the future security architecture in Europe. She stressed that issues affecting the security of the Union fall within its remit.
European representatives are also prepared for a direct conversation with the Russian delegation, but it is currently unclear whether such a meeting will take place. Moscow previously stated that Europeans would not be allowed at the main negotiating table.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Sunday that the Europeans would be well represented and that France would definitely take part. He уточнил that it had not yet been decided who exactly would represent Paris.
The US delegation will include special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Ukraine will be represented by a team led by Rustem Umerov, while the Russian delegation will be headed by Vladimir Medinsky. The talks are expected to focus on security guarantees for Ukraine and Russia, as well as on Europe’s future security.
Confirmation of the EU’s participation came after a letter from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Costa, in which she called for a more unified European position and a clearly designated representative of the Union. In response, Costa said that the issue would be discussed at the informal meeting of European leaders in Dublin after the talks in Abu Dhabi.
Sources: euronews.com, investing.com, apnews.com