Europe to join U.S.-brokered Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi, defying Kremlin objections

European officials will turn up for the U.S.-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in the United Arab Emirates this week, France's foreign minister said Sunday, days after the Kremlin had insisted there could be no role for European powers at the meeting."France will be there and will ensure that Europe's voice is heard," Jean-Noël Barrot told French radio.He did not say who would represent Paris, or whether French or other European officials would take part directly in negotiations, or simply observe.The meetings, which are set to take place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday, had previously been presented as a three-way session between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv.The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier ruled out a European role, saying the trilateral format had already been agreed.Talking to a Russian news channel on Friday, he accused European governments of failing to decide who speaks for them, while acknowledging that security talks would at some point require Europe's involvement.On Thursday, President Trump met Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev and said a coming agreement was "going to involve more than Ukraine," adding he could even say it "might involve all of Europe."Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN on Friday that he had not been given details of the agreement Trump had referenced, and warned: "For me, it's not simple, and it can be dangerous." He invoked the 1945 Yalta conference, where Allied leaders settled Europe's division without the involvement of several affected countries.This will be the fourth round of talks between the two warring nations brokered by the Trump administration, and the first since those in Geneva this February.

Earlier U.S.-brokered meetings have made little progress, and the chances of a breakthrough have been reduced as the Trump administration focused on its war with Iran.Moscow confirmed it would return to the negotiating table only following a visit by U.S.envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Russ...