Ukraine Negotiating Team Departs for Abu Dhabi Trilateral Talks with US, Russia

The presence of UK, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and EU representatives alongside the trilateral format suggests the talks are being structured to keep European security stakeholders inside the process rather than on the sidelines, which matters for how any outcome would be legitimized. Ukraine's separate coordination meetings with European partners point to an effort to align positions before engaging the US and Russia directly. Whether that coordination holds, and whether the broader European turnout translates into actual influence on the trilateral track, is the open question worth watching.