In brief: The European Commission will host talks on Ukraine in Brussels on Nov. 4, ahead of US-mediated negotiations with Russia in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11. Ukrainian, American, European, NATO, and World Bank representatives will attend. The discussions form part of a diplomatic push on security guarantees and reconstruction, with Kyiv seeking binding commitments to prevent another Russian invasion.
The European Commission will host talks on Ukraine in Brussels on Wednesday, Nov. 4, ahead of negotiations with Russia in Abu Dhabi, Commission chief spokeswoman Paula Pinho confirmed on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Representatives of Ukraine, the US, France, Germany, the UK, NATO, and the World Bank will attend the meeting at the Commission’s headquarters, European Pravda reported.
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The meeting “will build on earlier talks that took place in Miami,” Pinho said.
She said discussions would focus on Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction and prosperity. The EU would be represented at national security adviser level, she added, describing the participants as senior officials.
Pinho said she had no information about President Volodymyr Zelensky taking part in meetings at the Commission on Wednesday.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff had previously announced that American negotiators would meet European and NATO representatives in Brussels to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe’s postwar security arrangements, and economic opportunities to support reconstruction.
Brussels meeting precedes Abu Dhabi negotiations
The consultations will take place before the Nov. 10-11 talks between Ukrainian, Russian, and US officials in Abu Dhabi.
Witkoff said Washington would mediate working-level discussions focused on postwar security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian measures, and further steps toward ending Russia’s war.
The US delegation is expected to include Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
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The new round follows Witkoff’s Oct. 21 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov subsequently said Moscow was prepared to resume trilateral negotiations around Nov. 10.
Previous rounds in Abu Dhabi and Geneva failed to produce a comprehensive settlement, although they facilitated progress on prisoner exchanges. Major differences over territory and security arrangements remain unresolved.
Kyiv has also pushed for European involvement in the process. Sources close to Ukraine’s negotiating team previously said Ukrainian officials wanted European representatives in Abu Dhabi and planned to brief them as discussions unfolded, even if they did not initially join the negotiating table.
Kyiv seeks guarantees backed by Congress
Ukraine has argued that any settlement must include enforceable commitments capable of deterring another Russian attack.
Zelensky has called for US guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5 and backed by a congressional vote. He has rejected a repeat of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, under which Ukraine relinquished the nuclear weapons inherited from the Soviet Union in exchange for security assurances.
The president has outlined 3 possible security arrangements: NATO membership, bilateral American guarantees, and a European-led Coalition of the Willing supported by Washington.
He has said the commitments must specify how partners would respond to renewed aggression, including what military capabilities they would provide.
Zelensky has also rejected neutrality and externally imposed limits on Ukraine’s armed forces. He said Kyiv wanted to maintain an 800,000-person army, if sufficient funding is available, while acknowledging that NATO membership could change the country’s military requirements.
Allies rehearse a potential deployment
European governments are meanwhile preparing the military component of possible future guarantees.
Nearly 2,800 troops will take part in a deployment exercise in Poland on Nov. 9-22, rehearsing how a multinational force could move into Ukraine after hostilities end.
Led by France and Britain, the Koalicja exercise will test multinational command, transport, logistics, air defense, and counter-drone operations. Britain will contribute approximately 300 personnel, alongside Typhoon fighter jets and a Voyager refueling aircraft.
Turkey will separately lead a maritime simulation in Istanbul to prepare for potential Black Sea mine-clearing operations.
The proposed force would deploy only after fighting ends and at Kyiv’s request. Its role would include helping rebuild Ukraine’s armed forces, strengthening security in Ukrainian airspace, and supporting the reopening of commercial shipping routes.
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