NATO to join US-led Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi

NATO will send Jeffrey van Leeuwen, chief of staff to the alliance's secretary general, to the US-mediated talks between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11, a NATO official said, according to Euronews. Interfax-Ukraine and RBC-Ukraine reported the same, also citing NATO officials speaking on condition of anonymity. The decision means NATO and the European Union will both be on site for talks that were first set up as a three-way format, after European allies complained about being left out of discussions on their own security.euronews.com+2

EU sends senior aides

European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are not going to Abu Dhabi themselves. Their senior aides will lead the EU team: Bjoern Seibert, von der Leyen's chief of cabinet, and Anna-Maria Boura, Costa's chief foreign policy adviser. "The EU will be present alongside our partners," von der Leyen said on Monday after a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. National security advisers from France, Germany and the UK will also attend. A senior EU diplomat told the Kyiv Independent that the exact format is still "unclear."politico.eu+2

The EU institutions have said they are willing to meet the Russian delegation directly, which has not happened before in these peace talks, but it is not clear whether such a meeting will take place. Moscow pushed back. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the talks would be "trilateral negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States".kyivindependent.com+1

Allies fear being sidelined

The Abu Dhabi meeting will be the first round of three-way talks since February, when the war with Iran pulled Washington's attention away. US envoy Steve Witkoff said the agenda covers post-war security arrangements, de-escalation and humanitarian measures. Witkoff and Jared Kushner will represent the US. Rustem Umerov will lead Ukraine's delegation, and Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky will head Russia's.reuters.com+1

European unease grew after Kushner posted a set of principles for Europe's post-war security, which Zelenskyy called "dangerous." The Commission's chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho, said, "in such discussions, the EU needs to be present." Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote to Costa complaining about "disarray" among the different diplomatic formats, and Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski warned against "Western Europe dealing with Russia, over the heads of the East Europeans".euronews.com

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, a former NATO supreme allied commander, told Fox News that "the EU, NATO and Ukraine are central and the heart of the matter". Costa has agreed to put Europe's role in the talks on the agenda at an informal EU summit in Dublin later this week, after the Abu Dhabi meeting ends.foxnews.com