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ABU DHABI – The United States, Ukraine and European partners said Tuesday that any future peace arrangements must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity and provide credible security guarantees for Ukraine, while affirming that a strong NATO will remain central to collective defense.
A joint statement published by the European Council covered a coordination meeting in Abu Dhabi involving the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Ukraine, the United States and NATO. It set out shared aims for the negotiating process, not an agreed peace settlement.
The statement described the meeting as taking place ahead of trilateral discussions with Russia. It is separate from the Ukraine-U.S.-Russia format whose start Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov announced earlier Tuesday, as JBizNews reported.
The participants said future arrangements must respect independent decision-making, as well as sovereignty and territorial integrity. Their shared objective is a practical security framework that strengthens Ukraine’s long-term security and builds confidence needed for a negotiated settlement.
They also discussed how to build on existing European security institutions and agreements after the war, including mechanisms to manage risk and avoid dangerous escalation. The statement reaffirmed a commitment to a strong postwar European security framework and said NATO would remain central to Euro-Atlantic collective defense.
The European partners, Ukraine and the United States said they would continue coordinating throughout the negotiating process, with the objective of moving toward broader multilateral discussions involving European partners and achieving a lasting peace.
The statement does not announce a ceasefire, a territorial settlement, a finalized security guarantee or an agreement with Russia. It does not place European or NATO representatives in the separate Russia-U.S.-Ukraine negotiating room.
The new statement adds a shared account of the coordination meeting’s priorities to the earlier announcement that trilateral talks had begun. Security guarantees and the role of European partners remain objectives of the process rather than completed arrangements.
JBizNews Desk | Global Affairs
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