+++ Ukraine-Krieg +++: Lettland und Litauen warnen vor Drohnen im Luftraum

Germany and France have sent delegates to the talks with Russia and Ukraine mediated by the United States in Abu Dhabi. These are the first direct negotiations since February. However, Russia has stated it will not accept European representatives at the talks. Kyiv reported that Ukraine's delegation will inform Europe separately about the progress of the talks.

The Ukrainian delegation includes Rustem Umjerow, who stated that they are doing everything to involve Europe in the diplomatic process. The Russian delegation includes Kremlin adviser Vladimir Medinski and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Rjabkov. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wrote in a piece for the Moscow newspaper Kommersant that the agreement on diesel deliveries is already showing results and is lowering prices.

The agreement, announced by US President Donald Trump on October 9, sees Russia initially supplying 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the US and the global markets to lower fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections. The US government temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian fuel for this purpose. Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks on at least eight major oil refineries in the past two weeks have reportedly caused new fuel shortages in at least half a dozen Russian regions.

Merz also calls for a solution for a sustainable financing of Ukraine by all EU member states within the framework of the EU budget negotiations for the years 2028 to 2034 in the talks. The EU aims to reach an agreement on the entire financial framework by the end of the year.