Ukraine: von der Leyen says, ‘The EU will be present at the Abu Dhabi talks’. But the Kremlin puts the brakes on: only a trilateral meeting

Germany is unable to supply Ukraine with any further Patriot air defence systems at short notice, according to German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, speaking in an interview with the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper. “Whatever we supplied now could not be replaced immediately. This would create gaps that we cannot afford,” he explained, emphasising that Berlin has already delivered several systems and numerous missiles. Pistorius then called on those states that have contributed less to increase their support, an issue he intends to raise in mid-November within the Ukraine Defence Contact Group; at the same time, the Minister warned of the consequences of a possible halt to aid – a scenario advocated by the far-right AfD party: “If we were to cease our support, millions of Ukrainians would head for Central and Western Europe,” he said.

According to Pistorius, a Ukrainian defeat would pose a long-term threat to European stability and could encourage Moscow to attack other territories, particularly in the Baltic states: “Support for Ukraine is not an act of charity,” he reiterated, emphasising that it also serves the security interests of Europeans.

“I spoke with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. At the moment, many of our towns and communities are facing a very difficult situation with their electricity, water and heating supplies due to the Russian attacks. The situation is most acute in Kyiv, the Dnipro, Sumy and Donetsk regions, and in Kherson. I explained the challenges to Ursula, and we agreed that the European Union will activate a special emergency mechanism. This will make it possible to quickly provide Ukraine with funding for what is most urgently needed at this time. Our teams are already working on this.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote this on X.

With von der Leyen, Zelensky continued, “we discussed additional energy and humanitarian assistance to prepare for the winter, as well as issues relating to European integration. Last week, the European Commission published its annual Enlargement Package, which gave a positive assessment of Ukraine’s progress. It is important to open all the chapters and start closing them. Of course, we also discussed diplomacy. In recent days, talks have taken place in Brussels, where our teams have done a good job of drawing up a recovery plan and securing security guarantees from Europe”.

The Americans and Ukrainians have channels of communication with the Europeans, with whom they “are establishing a coordination mechanism”, said Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, commenting on reports of European plans to take part in the Abu Dhabi talks. “What will take place in Abu Dhabi over the coming days are trilateral negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States,” said Peskov, as quoted by TASS. “As for the European presence, you know that the Americans have their own channels of communication with the Europeans, and the Ukrainians have their own channels of communication with the Europeans. And it appears they are already establishing their own coordination mechanism. But I repeat: what is being discussed in Abu Dhabi are trilateral negotiations,” the Kremlin spokesperson emphasised.

The United States hopes that the new trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine, scheduled for tomorrow in Abu Dhabi, will lead to progress towards a negotiated settlement of the conflict. This was stated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who confirmed the participation of President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner. “Perhaps some progress can be made tomorrow in Abu Dhabi, when Jared and Steve are there. I believe they are already on their way,” Rubio told reporters.

The talks are expected to focus on security guarantees, measures to ease tensions, humanitarian issues and the next steps required to reach a peace agreement, according to Witkoff.

The Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, stated that Ukraine and its European allies are preparing for the continuation of the war, not for peace. “It appears that Ukraine and its European sponsors are preparing for war – for its continuation – rather than for peace,” he said at the 14th annual meeting of the secretaries of the security councils of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), according to TASS.

“We must provide Ukraine with as many guarantees as possible, because we do not want a repeat of what happened in Georgia 18 years ago, when the necessary guarantees were not provided.” This was stated by the Lithuanian Finance Minister, Taurimas Valys, on his arrival at the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels. Vilnius is aiming to reach an agreement by the end of the year, during the Irish EU Presidency. “We will make every effort to achieve this by the end of this year; it is really important to us,” Valys emphasised. “But I hope that, if we do not succeed under the Irish presidency, we will be able to do so during our own presidency,” he added, referring to Lithuania’s six-month term at the helm of the Council of the EU, which will begin on 1 January 2027. On the subject of defence funding, Valys pointed out that Lithuania is among the NATO and EU countries that allocate the highest proportion of GDP to military spending. The minister therefore stressed the need to ensure the maximum possible resources are allocated to defence in the next multiannual EU budget, whilst also taking into account Ukraine’s needs. “Resilience, defence and security will also be among the main priorities during the Lithuanian Presidency,” he concluded.

The EU “will take part” in the talks on Ukraine due to take place this week in Abu Dhabi. This was announced on social media by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “Freedom of navigation in the Black Sea,” says the President, who is visiting Romania today following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, “must be restored and preserved. I have reiterated my support for his call for a ceasefire that spares food and energy infrastructure.” “We also discussed,” she added, “the ongoing peace efforts and the talks to be held this week in Abu Dhabi, in which the EU will participate alongside our partners. “I look forward to meeting President Zelensky in Dublin later this week to discuss the next steps towards peace with the other leaders,” she concludes.