Kremlin says European countries not included in next Ukraine talks

European countries will not be included in the next round of talks with Ukraine and the United States planned to take place in Abu Dhabi, according to a top foreign policy aide at the Kremlin.

Interfax news agency quoted Yuri Ushakov, who said the possible participation of European countries was not discussed during a 90-minute phone call on Tuesday among Russian President Vladimir Putin, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

But Stubb offered a different account, telling a meeting of the Nordic Council in Helsinki that European countries would be involved in November’s Abu Dhabi talks.

Speaking at a news conference in the Netherlands on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said trilateral talks with Russia and the US would take place from November 6 to November 10 in the United Arab Emirates.

Zelenskyy said Kyiv wanted Europe to also be involved in the talks, adding that unity and stronger pressure on Russia were needed.

Dutch pledge

His comments came after he met with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who pledged an extra 500 million euros ($556m) for military support to Ukraine this winter to buy drones and other material to strengthen Ukraine’s defences. Zelenskyy is also due to meet Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day before Zelenskyy’s visit, the Dutch government announced a new support package for Ukraine worth 1.2 billion euros ($1.33bn) over the next three years and a contribution of 40 million euros ($44.5m) by the end of this year to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund.

“Support for recovery and reconstruction can’t wait for a ceasefire. Ukraine needs our help right now – military support but also social and economic assistance,” Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, the Dutch minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, said during a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday.

“However successful you are on the battlefield, it’s also essential that energy systems, hospitals and food production keep ticking over,” he added.

In a separate development, Zelenskyy thanked British Prime Minister Andy Burnham for a newly announced additional support package worth 10 billion pounds ($13.3bn) after a Wednesday morning phone call.

“A truly strong and very timely step – coming right as Russia needs to see and feel that Ukraine will not be left alone to deal with the problems Russia is so eager to escalate,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

According to Downing Street, the new British aid package for Ukraine includes 500 million pounds ($665m) in additional military support from the Ministry of Defence “to plug urgent gaps in Ukraine’s air defences this winter”.