The European Commission and the European Council are sending representatives to Abu Dhabi, where negotiations between Ukraine, the United States and Russia will take place on November 10–11. European officials are prepared for direct contact with the Russian delegation, but it remains unclear whether they will be allowed to join the negotiating table.
This was reported by Euronews and Deutsche Welle.
The joint EU delegation will be led by Bjoern Seibert, chief of staff to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Anna-Maria Boura, chief foreign policy adviser to European Council President António Costa.
According to DW, Seibert is already in Abu Dhabi. It remains unclear which meetings he will attend.
National security advisers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom will also travel to the UAE alongside EU representatives. Italy will also join the negotiating process. NATO will be represented by Chief of Staff Geoffrey Van Leeuwen.
Germany will be represented by Günter Sautter, foreign and security policy adviser to Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The European Commission and the European Council have expressed their readiness to engage directly with the Russian delegation. No such meetings have taken place during the current negotiation process.
However, European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho could not clarify whether EU representatives would participate in talks with the Russians.
“As for the exact format, we currently have no additional information that we can share,” she said.
The German government also declined to say directly whether Sautter would have a seat at the negotiating table. However, it noted that he would have “an opportunity to influence” the process. Following a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the EU’s participation in the meetings.
“The EU will be present alongside our partners,” she said.
Pinho stressed that the European Union must take part in discussions on issues directly affecting its security. At the same time, she said discussions about the future European security architecture should take place after the war ends.
US special envoy Jared Kushner previously said that a multilateral negotiating format would be possible if progress was made. However, he did not specify whether such a meeting would take place in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin insists on a trilateral format for the negotiations. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the talks would be held between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States, while the Americans and Ukrainians have separate channels of communication with their European partners.
“But let me repeat once again: these are trilateral negotiations,” Peskov stressed.
The Abu Dhabi talks will mark the resumption of trilateral meetings following a pause since February.
The Ukrainian delegation will be led by Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov. It will also include Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov, his deputy Sergiy Kyslytsya, and Davyd Arakhamia.
The Russian delegation will be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin will also represent Russia.
The United States will be represented by special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
European leaders will continue discussing the peace process at an informal summit in Dublin later this week, following the Abu Dhabi meetings.
