Key facts
- Von der Leyen's chief of staff Bjoern Seibert will represent the European Commission at the talks, per two EU officials.
- Anna-Maria Boura, chief foreign policy adviser to Council President António Costa, will represent the Council, per two EU officials.
- A German official said the format of negotiations would be determined as the discussions progress.
- An EU official, granted anonymity, said the Europeans would not be inside the room.
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote to Costa last week criticizing the changing format of talks with Russia.
- The Kremlin said it will send senior diplomats and military officials; Ukraine's delegation is headed by Rustem Umerov.
The European Union will send representatives from the European Commission and Council to Ukraine peace talks starting November 10 in Abu Dhabi, according to two EU officials. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed in a post on X that the EU would have representatives at the talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US, writing that "the EU will be present alongside our partners."
Von der Leyen's chief of staff Bjoern Seibert will represent the Commission and Anna-Maria Boura, chief foreign policy adviser to Council President António Costa, will represent the Council, the officials said. National security advisers from France, Germany and the UK will also be present, according to a German official and two EU diplomats.
It is unclear whether the European contingent will be inside the room for the talks. The German official told POLITICO the format of negotiations would "be determined as the discussions progress." An EU official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive preparations, as were others spoken to for this article, said the Europeans would not be inside the room.
EU leaders have been at loggerheads over how Europe should be represented at the talks. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote to Costa last week criticizing the changing format of talks with Russia. Her message won support from Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski for a wider group, including representatives from EU institutions, to be involved in peace talks.