MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. The European Commission and its politicians dictate the approach to European capitals, which work to hamper negotiations on resolving the ongoing Ukrainian conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Thursday.
"European capitals and politicians, including the European Commission, who set the tune there, are generally obstructing the negotiating process and seeking to disrupt it," the high-ranking Russian diplomat told journalists following the trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
Abu Dhabi negotiations
Russia, the United States and Ukraine held talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11. The first round of consultations lasted four and a half hours, including a 40-minute break, on November 10, followed by a session that lasted about two hours on November 11. Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky led the Russian delegation, while Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov headed the Ukrainian delegation.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, were also present at the negotiating table when the talks began. Despite statements from French officials, no Europeans attended the meeting.
Medinsky revealed that, at the talks, Russia and Ukraine coordinated a major POW exchange, saying that its parameters will be made public soon. He also noted that the theme of the European security system was central to the Abu Dhabi meeting and that the sides found common ground on some aspects of it.