France, Europe and disputes
Barrot accused Jean-Luc Mélenchon of echoing Kremlin propaganda about the Donbas, and Euronews quoted Barrot saying, “No one will speak on our behalf.” Barrot also said he did not know what President Donald Trump was referring to, and he insisted that no agreement with “consequences for the European security architecture” could be “conceived, or even discussed,” without European participation.
The Kyiv Independent reported that Barrot told RTL, “The Europeans will be well represented, and France will be in Abu Dhabi to take part in these discussions,” while he said he could not yet tell who would represent France. The Kyiv Independent said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged European Council President António Costa to settle the issue by organizing Europe’s participation so it could convey “a clear and unified message, to defend its interests, and to support Ukraine,” and it said Costa wrote that “The European Union’s participation must be organized” for that purpose.
Who goes and what is at risk
Russia told Interfax that its delegation to the Abu Dhabi talks would include Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the delegation would include senior military officials and diplomats. Interfax reporting cited by The Jerusalem Post said the trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi was scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday and would be the first such talks since February, and it said the delegation would be headed again by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky as chief negotiator.
The Jerusalem Post said Putin met the delegation members at a Russian Security Council meeting and that Putin thanked the United Arab Emirates for hosting the negotiations while he said he wanted to discuss preparations with the Russian team. France 24 reported that NATO officials met in Brussels ahead of the Abu Dhabi talks and that a NATO spokeswoman said they “sought to advance a just and sustainable end to the war in Ukraine,” while Jared Kushner said the United States was working on “a broader European security architecture that can help establish the conditions for lasting peace.”
Source: newscord.org
