EU to send joint team to Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Abu Dhabi

The European Commission and the European Council will send a joint team of senior officials to the round of trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi that the United States will host between Ukraine and Russia.

The negotiations will unfold over two days: 10 and 11 November.

"The EU will be present alongside our partners," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday morning after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Freedom of navigation in the Black Sea must be restored and preserved. I reiterated my support for his (Zelenskyy's) call for a ceasefire covering food and energy infrastructure."

A spokesperson for the European Council also confirmed the participation.

The institutions will be joined by the so-called E3 – France, Germany and the United Kingdom – at national security advisor level. NATO will be represented in Abu Dhabi by Chief of Staff Geoffrey Van Leeuwen, a NATO official said.

The EU team will be led by Bjoern Seibert, von der Leyen's chief of cabinet, and Anna-Maria Boura, chief foreign policy advisor to European Council President António Costa.

Both institutions have indicated their willingness to engage directly with the Russian delegation, something that has never happened in the context of the peace talks.

At this stage, however, it is not clear if this face-to-face will happen.