The European Union will have officials from both the European Commission and the European Council at the Ukraine peace talks opening in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Firstpost reported on Monday, citing a Politico report quoting two EU officials.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the bloc's participation in the talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, writing on X that "the EU will be present alongside our partners." The delegation will include her chief of staff, Bjoern Seibert, and Anna-Maria Boura, chief foreign policy adviser to European Council President António Costa. National security advisers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom are also expected to attend.
It is still unclear whether the Europeans will sit in the negotiating room itself. A German official said the format would be decided as the talks progress, while one EU official said the European representatives would not be inside the room.
How Europe should be represented in talks with Moscow has divided EU leaders. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote to Costa last week raising concerns about changes to the format, and Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski backed a broader European presence that includes the EU institutions.
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