Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the prospect of Europeans joining Tuesday’s Russia-Ukraine-U.S. talks in Abu Dhabi, as European governments pressed to participate in broader negotiations over Ukraine.
The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry said the third Abu Dhabi round of talks among Russia, Ukraine and the United States opened Tuesday.
Anadolu Agency reported that Lavrov, speaking at a news conference in Moscow, said of European officials: “Let them sit there in the hotel.” Lavrov said Moscow had accepted a U.S. proposal under which the talks would address regional collective security. He said security guarantees would take effect after a comprehensive settlement.
A joint statement published by the European Council said representatives of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the United States and NATO met separately in Abu Dhabi ahead of the trilateral session. They discussed efforts to end the war, security guarantees for Ukraine and a framework for the period after a settlement. The participants said future arrangements should uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, with NATO central to Euro-Atlantic collective defense.
The participants in the separate meeting said they would continue coordinating and seek broader talks that include European representatives. They gave no date for those talks.
