BUCHAREST, November 9. /TASS/. The European Union will resist discussing a new European security architecture until a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine is signed, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
"Any meaningful discussions of Europe's security architecture can only be undertaken once a ceasefire in Ukraine has been achieved," she said at a news conference.
"And it must take place in an appropriate forum, in particular with NATO allies and EU members."
Speaking at the press conference in Bucharest, von der Leyen allowed the press to ask only one question — about the upcoming trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi without the European Union. Von der Leyen promised to satisfy Vladimir Zelensky’s request for assistance in the negotiations. According to the head of the European Commission, last week EU countries discussed with the United States the future of the plan for the post-war distribution of contracts for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Earlier, the European Commission said it would send a support group for Kiev to Abu Dhabi. The group will not have a seat at the negotiating table but will communicate with the Ukrainian delegation on the sidelines. It will include the heads of staff of the head of the European Commission and the NATO Secretary General, an employee of the head of the European Council, and national security advisers from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
The negotiations between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine on the Ukrainian settlement are scheduled for November 10-11. Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky will head the Russian delegation, while the Ukrainian delegation will be led by Rustem Umerov, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the negotiations will focus on security guarantees, and the details will be discussed behind closed doors. Peskov previously said it is impossible for European representatives to participate in the negotiations as a trilateral format was initially agreed upon.