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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has challenged Russia's approach to negotiating Europe's future, asking how Moscow and Washington can settle questions of European security without European countries at the table. "How can you negotiate security infrastructure in Europe without Europe?" he asked in comments to journalists published on Wednesday, October 28. "What will you negotiate with whom? With China? Interesting."
The remarks came as Ukraine, the United States and Russia prepare for a new round of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, which Zelenskyy said Kyiv wants held from November 6 to November 10. The delegations are expected to discuss an energy and maritime ceasefire, prisoner exchanges and a possible leaders' meeting.
Europe's place at those talks is disputed. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said European countries would not be included, saying there had been no discussion of European participation. Finnish President Alexander Stubb gave a different account, saying European countries would be involved — a conflict Zelenskyy has pressed Kyiv to resolve in Europe's favour.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would proceed with the Abu Dhabi talks even if European representatives were excluded from the initial meeting, but insisted Europe must help shape any final settlement, including security guarantees and post-war reconstruction. "Without Europe, it is impossible to discuss security guarantees and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine," he said.
He also warned against a separate expected meeting between the leaders of Russia, the United States and China on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit next month, saying he did not want it to become a new carve-up of influence. "We really don't want this to turn into 'Yalta 2, 3, 4', with a redistribution of influence," he said, referring to the 1945 conference at which the Soviet Union, the United States and Britain shaped post-war Europe. "Russia wants this meeting more than anyone," he added, warning against handing Moscow "another major diplomatic advantage."
Zelenskyy said Kyiv wants its Abu Dhabi meeting to take place before any such three-way summit, and urged the United States to increase supplies of Patriot air-defence missiles.
For its part, the Kremlin has cast doubt on the timing of any leaders' meeting. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a meeting between himself, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy would be set up "very soon" and that much progress had been made, while Ushakov said talks would take place after November 4, that no date signal had been sent, and that Putin would meet face to face only in a third country and only to sign prepared peace documents.
Context: Russia has long sought a comprehensive agreement with Washington on Europe's security architecture, including an end to NATO's expansion near its borders — a position Kyiv and Western governments reject, saying the invasion is an imperialistic land-grab by Putin.