Ukraine Warupdated 28m ago2 min read
MapFrance Says Europe Will Be Represented at US-Brokered Ukraine Talks in Abu Dhabi
3 West Asian3 Western Mainstream2 Other3 Other source typesMap: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Europe will participate in US-mediated Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi. France will join the talks and lead Europe’s representation, says Barrot.
Save coverage image
11 outlets in this story. Read their headlines below.
Abu Dhabi talks set
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Sunday that Europe would be well represented at next week’s Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi, with France taking part. Barrot told RTL, “The Europeans will be well represented; France will be in Abu Dhabi to take part in these discussions,” while he said he was not yet in a position to say who would represent Paris at the meeting.
US envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington planned to convene delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11, and he said the agenda would cover bringing Moscow’s war against Ukraine to an end, security arrangements for the post-war period and steps toward de-escalation. The talks were described as US-brokered, and Barrot said “The Europeans will be properly represented and France will be in Abu Dhabi to participate in these discussions,” while he noted he would not sit at the negotiating table himself.
France, Europe and disputes
Barrot accused Jean-Luc Mélenchon of echoing Kremlin propaganda about the Donbas, and Euronews quoted Barrot saying, “No one will speak on our behalf.” Barrot also said he did not know what President Donald Trump was referring to, and he insisted that no agreement with “consequences for the European security architecture” could be “conceived, or even discussed,” without European participation.
The Kyiv Independent reported that Barrot told RTL, “The Europeans will be well represented, and France will be in Abu Dhabi to take part in these discussions,” while he said he could not yet tell who would represent France. The Kyiv Independent said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged European Council President António Costa to settle the issue by organizing Europe’s participation so it could convey “a clear and unified message, to defend its interests, and to support Ukraine,” and it said Costa wrote that “The European Union's participation must be organized” for that purpose.
Who goes and what is at risk
Russia told Interfax that its delegation to the Abu Dhabi talks would include Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the delegation would include senior military officials and diplomats. Interfax reporting cited by The Jerusalem Post said the trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi was scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday and would be the first such talks since February, and it said the delegation would be headed again by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky as chief negotiator.
The Jerusalem Post said Putin met the delegation members at a Russian Security Council meeting and that Putin thanked the United Arab Emirates for hosting the negotiations while he said he wanted to discuss preparations with the Russian team. France 24 reported that NATO officials met in Brussels ahead of the Abu Dhabi talks and that a NATO spokeswoman said they “sought to advance a just and sustainable end to the war in Ukraine,” while Jared Kushner said the United States was working on “a broader European security architecture that can help establish the conditions for lasting peace.”