France Says Europeans Will Join Abu Dhabi Ukraine Talks on Nov. 10-11; Kremlin Had Said Format Is Trilateral

After Vladimir Putin told U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg that Moscow was prepared to restart U.S.-mediated discussions with Kyiv, the Abu Dhabi round went from a Kremlin signal to a firm date. It is set for Tuesday, Nov. 10, and Wednesday, Nov. 11. Sunday's new wrinkle: Europe says it is coming.

France says it will be there

Barrot, speaking on RTL's Le Grand Jury and on Public Sénat, said: "The Europeans will be well represented and France will be in Abu Dhabi to take part in these talks." He said he would not personally sit at the negotiating table.

He did not say who will represent France. "I cannot yet tell you who will represent France on this occasion, but it will definitely be there," he said.

Barrot said Europeans spent recent weeks telling the American mediators that no discussion of the continent's future can ignore European expectations and demands. "We will not let anyone speak on our behalf, that is very clear," he said. He also acknowledged that talks have at times gone ahead without Europeans.

What Moscow said

The Kremlin's public line has been narrower. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the sessions in the first half of November would be held in a trilateral format of Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. Asked whether Europeans might join, he said: "Nothing can be ruled out in advance."

Peskov also said Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin, will lead the Russian delegation. He described security arrangements for both sides as one of the "most important elements of reaching a peace settlement."

Witkoff announced on X on Monday that the U.S. would mediate "working-level negotiations" in Abu Dhabi on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and next steps toward peace. He said U.S. negotiators would also meet that week in Brussels with representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU and NATO on security guarantees and reconstruction.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants Kyiv's European allies involved.

Trump's 'major agreement'

After meeting Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Thursday, President Donald Trump told reporters a "major agreement" with Russia on Ukraine was imminent. He said it "could cover all of Europe" and that "everyone will be delighted with" it. He gave no details.

Barrot said Sunday he does not know what Trump has in mind. He added that no agreement with "consequences for the European security architecture" could be "designed, or even discussed" without Europeans.

This would be the fourth round of talks brokered by the Trump administration. The previous trilateral round, in Geneva in mid-February, produced no progress toward ending the war. Western governments backing the effort say territory and security guarantees remain unresolved.

Strikes on the eve of talks

The fighting has not paused. Zelensky said Russia fired 36 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight Saturday, plus 172 drones across Kyiv and 12 other regions. Nine people were wounded, including a child.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said energy facilities in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions were damaged and the capital's heating and water supply was under strain. The Northern Bridge across the Dnipro was closed.

Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed it targeted the bridge, which it said carried weapons and equipment for Ukraine's army. It also said it hit a Kyiv facility producing Flamingo missiles, a power station, substations and an ammunition plant. Zelensky said Russia was preparing for the talks by launching ballistic missiles at Ukraine's critical infrastructure, and urged Congress to back Ukraine and tighten sanctions on Russia.

In the south, rescuers in Komyshuvakha had recovered 55 bodies by early Saturday after Russian guided bombs hit a former school and nearby shelter on Monday as residents waited for humanitarian aid. Dozens remain missing.

A French political fight over territory

Barrot also used his interview to attack Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the hard-left La France Insoumise leader. He called Mélenchon a "mouthpiece of the Kremlin."

Mélenchon had advocated a referendum on the status of the Donbass, much of it occupied by Russian forces, at a Le Bourget rally the day before. "We do not accept the idea of peace involving territorial concessions in Ukraine without asking the populations concerned whether they agree to find themselves on this side of the border or the other," he said. "It is for the people to decide."

The LFI platform, "L'Avenir en commun," unveiled this week, gives the war little space.

What is still open

Paris has committed to attend but has not named a delegate. Moscow has said the format is trilateral and has not said whether it accepts European participants at the table or only around it.

The talks open Tuesday, Nov. 10, in Abu Dhabi. Whether Trump's promised agreement has any text behind it, and whether Europeans see it before it is announced, is the question those two days are expected to start answering.