Europe to join US-mediated Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi

France says European representatives will take part in upcoming US-mediated talks on the war in Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, after the format had previously been described as trilateral. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Europe would be represented and that France would be present at the discussions scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. The talks are expected to involve officials from Ukraine, Russia and the United States, with the venue in the United Arab Emirates.

Barrot said on Sunday that France would participate and that Europe's voice would be heard in the process. He did not say who would represent France at the table, but said the country would definitely be present. The comments followed earlier descriptions of the talks as a three-way format involving Ukrainian, Russian and American officials at the level of officials rather than leaders.

The announcement comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wanted European allies involved in any peace process. Russia has previously suggested there should be no place for European representatives at the table, making the French statement a notable shift in the expected format. Barrot said Europeans had made clear to American mediators that no discussion about the future of the continent could ignore their expectations and demands.

The talks matter because they could shape not only the war in Ukraine but also wider European security arrangements. Barrot said no agreement with consequences for the European security architecture could be designed, or even discussed, without Europeans. That view reflects long-standing European concern that any settlement involving Ukraine could affect the continent's security balance well beyond the battlefield.

The development follows a meeting in Brussels on Thursday involving US, European, Ukrainian and NATO officials ahead of the Abu Dhabi talks. A NATO spokeswoman said the participants sought to advance a just and sustainable end to the war in Ukraine. Jared Kushner, the US president's envoy and son-in-law, joined that meeting by videolink and said Washington was working on a broader European security architecture that could help create the conditions for lasting peace.

The American approach has been viewed cautiously by European allies, who have long rejected Moscow's calls to redraw the European security architecture. Before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin issued an ultimatum to NATO that included a demand for alliance troops to withdraw from eastern Europe, a demand that was rejected by the Western military alliance. That history helps explain why European governments are pressing to be included in any talks that could affect the region's future security order.

The Abu Dhabi meeting is scheduled for 10 and 11 November, but the identities of the participants have not been made public. It remains unclear how many European representatives will attend, what level of official they will be, and whether the format will change further before the talks begin. The key question now is whether the expanded participation will help narrow differences between the parties or expose deeper disagreements over the terms of any settlement.

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