Brussels – Strengthening security guarantees for Kyiv and ensuring that Europe plays a role in shaping the continent’s future security architecture. This is the aim of today’s (10 November) meeting in Abu Dhabi between representatives of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the United States, and NATO, ahead of the resumption of trilateral talks among Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow. This marks a new step in Western diplomatic coordination, as efforts intensify to reach a negotiated solution to the Russian war in Ukraine.
In the statement released after the pre-trilateral meeting, the participants reiterated that any agreement must respect “sovereignty, territorial integrity, independent decision-making, and provide credible security guarantees for Ukraine.” The shared objective is “a practical and mutually reinforcing security framework that strengthens Ukraine’s long-term security and builds the confidence necessary to reach a negotiated settlement.”
Discussions also centred on the future European security architecture, with an explicit reference to NATO’s role, which will remain the cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic collective defence. The partners also stressed the need to maintain close coordination throughout the negotiation process, to move towards broader multilateral discussions involving European partners.
The Abu Dhabi meeting is part of a diplomatic process that Brussels had already helped to take forward last week. On 4 November, the European Commission hosted a meeting with delegations from Ukraine, the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as NATO and the World Bank, to discuss the country’s economic prospects and post-war reconstruction.
The aim was to set out a vision of prosperity for Ukraine, identifying the tools needed to support growth and attract international investment. In this process, Brussels considers the reform programme that Kyiv is implementing as part of the European Union accession process to be central, as it is deemed essential for strengthening stability and investor confidence. The Commission pointed out that it has already provided Ukraine with 231.5 billion euros since the start of the Russian aggression.
Security and reconstruction therefore remain two closely linked aspects: for Europe, the prospect of lasting peace also depends on ensuring Ukraine has an economically sustainable future and a stable place within the European architecture.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
