U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will meet with representatives of Ukraine, the European Union, NATO, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy before the start of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia in Abu Dhabi. The negotiations are scheduled for November 10 and 11 and will be the first in this format since February.
„President Trump is determined to bring an end to this terrible war, which has caused tremendous loss of life, destruction and suffering,“ Kushner said in a post on the social media platform X
According to him, the meeting with European partners is part of ongoing consultations on European security and Ukraine’s future after the war. Kushner said the U.S. goal is to bring Ukraine and Russia together for a direct discussion of their security concerns, proposals and possible solutions.
Four U.S. Priorities
Kushner described the U.S. administration’s work as focused on four interconnected priorities: ending the hostilities, postwar security guarantees, a comprehensive economic plan for Ukraine and humanitarian measures. According to The Associated Press, the talks will also include efforts to find mechanisms to prevent the conflict from erupting again, as well as measures to rebuild the Ukrainian economy.
Security remains one of the most contentious issues. Ukraine is calling for reliable guarantees to reduce the risk of another Russian attack. Moscow, for its part, says that any future agreement must also take Russian security concerns into account. According to The Associated Press, the agenda is expected to include ongoing consultations, crisis communications, greater military transparency and reciprocal measures to reduce the risk of escalation.
European Participation Remains Controversial
European Pravda reported that representatives of the European Commission and the European Council are expected in Abu Dhabi, along with national security advisers from Germany, France and the United Kingdom. NATO will be represented by the chief of staff to the secretary general, Jeffrey van Leeuwen. The European representatives named include German adviser Günter Sautter, British adviser Jonathan Powell and French President Emmanuel Bonne’s diplomatic adviser.
Moscow, however, insists that the main format remains trilateral and that Europeans will not participate directly in the talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said European countries could be brought in at a later stage, when the broader security architecture in Europe is discussed. The Ukrainian delegation will hold separate coordination meetings with European representatives as part of the meetings in Abu Dhabi.
Sources: apnews.com, pravda.com.ua