NATO to Send Envoy to Support Ukraine in Abu Dhabi Talks
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intends to send Geoffrey van Leeuwen, chief of staff and strategic advisor to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, to Abu Dhabi. He will join the European support group for Ukraine.
Euronews, citing a source at NATO headquarters, reported that the alliance would be represented at the level of the Secretary General’s chief of staff. Van Leeuwen will join the European contingent, which previously included Björn Seibert, chief of staff to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and representatives from the European Council, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
As per the report, representatives from the European Union and NATO will not be directly involved in the trilateral negotiations and will not be seated at the discussion table. Instead, they will be positioned in proximity to the negotiation venue to support the Ukrainian delegation.
The European Union had previously sought to attend these negotiations, and Kyiv had requested the participation of EU representatives. However, the current framework for the talks is limited to the presence of Russia, the United States, and Ukraine. The role of European entities will be confined to support and coordination outside the immediate discussion area.
Politico also reported that the European delegation would not be present at the negotiation table in Abu Dhabi, but would be stationed nearby to monitor the proceedings.
Earlier, Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Russian Presidency, had emphasized that the Abu Dhabi negotiations would be conducted in a trilateral format, exclusively involving Russia, the United States, and Ukraine.
