Europe will be represented in Abu Dhabi talks on Ukraine, French foreign minister says

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced on Sunday that France will participate in next week's US-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi. He told French radio RTL that "Europe will be well represented and France will be in Abu Dhabi to participate in these discussions." U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff had previously announced that there would be trilateral talks between Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow on November 10-11, the first since a summit in February.

However, the extent of Europe's involvement in the talks remains unclear. European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho stated that the EU executive does not yet have details to share, but emphasized that "it's obviously up to the European Union to decide on matters which affect its security and on matters which are of its competence."

The EU has been grappling with deciding who should represent it and who should be in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had urged European Council President António Costa to settle the issue, which was subsequently added to the Nov. 13 leaders' summit agenda. The plan has raised concerns among EU officials, who worry it may sideline the continent and bolster Putin's position.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas noted that Europe already has a security architecture in place with NATO and the European Union, and that Ukraine must be integrated into this framework.