By denying European representatives the status of participants while acknowledging that Washington and Kyiv consult them continuously, the Russian side appears to be separating the parties it treats as legitimate interlocutors from those it does not.
European representatives present in Abu Dhabi during talks between Russian, Ukrainian and American delegations are not participants in the negotiating process, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko. Speaking to reporters, Grushko said the significance of their physical presence at the venue should not be exaggerated, TASS reports. He noted that European emissaries had travelled to the sites of such talks during a previous phase, and that both the Ukrainians and the Americans remain in contact with the Europeans around the clock.
The deputy minister went further in his assessment of European intentions. "So far, the Europeans have only impeded the process," he said, adding that he saw no factors that could change that view. He accused European representatives of sitting behind the scenes, pulling strings and trying to pressure American and Ukrainian negotiators, and said that pressure is not aimed at finding a settlement. Asked about possible visits to Moscow by representatives of Western European countries, Grushko said he was not aware of any such desire.
Grushko's remarks are a statement of the Russian government's position rather than an account of the talks themselves, and the substance of what is being discussed in Abu Dhabi is not disclosed in the report. The identities of the European representatives present, the scope of their contacts with the American and Ukrainian delegations, and whether any formal channel exists for European input are all left unstated. Nor does the report indicate what stage the negotiations have reached or what, if anything, has been agreed.
The wider claim advanced by Grushko is that Western policy as a whole, including that of US allies, is aimed at prolonging the conflict rather than creating conditions for a peaceful settlement. He said the rhetoric officially voiced by European officials at various forums does not indicate any change of heart among Europe's ruling elites, and that neither the doctrinal documents nor the practical policies and military build-up of NATO and EU countries show a readiness to foster security together with Russia rather than against it. He also said it is still too early to discuss new mechanisms for a security system.
The value of the intervention lies less in any new detail about the negotiations than in what it signals about Moscow's framing. By denying European representatives the status of participants while acknowledging that Washington and Kyiv consult them continuously, the Russian side appears to be separating the parties it treats as legitimate interlocutors from those it does not. That distinction matters for any eventual settlement, since European governments would be expected to underwrite its terms. Grushko's warning against overstating Europe's presence also serves to lower expectations of what the Abu Dhabi format can deliver.
For European capitals, the accusation of obstruction is a familiar one, and the report offers no European response to it. Whether the Russian account reflects the actual conduct of the talks or is itself a negotiating posture cannot be established from the material available. What is confirmed is that Russian, Ukrainian and American delegations are meeting in Abu Dhabi, that European representatives are nearby, and that Moscow is publicly insisting they are not at the table.
