LONDON, November 12. /TASS/. The European Union welcomes the talks in Abu Dhabi while simultaneously preparing its 22nd package of sanctions against Russia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said upon arriving in Dublin for the European Political Community summit.

"I very much welcome the peace talks in Abu Dhabi," von der Leyen said, adding that the EU would support Ukraine "be it in wartime or be it in peacetime." Von der Leyen also said that, allegedly, European countries "were represented."

At the same time, she emphasized that the EU was "preparing the 22nd sanctions package [against Russia]," as well as "a proposal on how to cover the financial needs of Ukraine in 2027," which it intends to present "before the next European Council," scheduled for November 26-27 in Brussels.

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.