Abu Dhabi Talks: Washington and Moscow Discuss European Security in the Absence of a European Role

On Tuesday, the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, witnessed the first round of trilateral negotiations between Russia and Ukraine sponsored by the United States, in a preliminary step aimed at seeking a political settlement to the ongoing conflict, amid signs of redrawing the security map of the European continent without active participation from European Union countries.

European Security on the US-Russian Negotiating Table

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the initial talks as "substantive." However, the most prominent development was Moscow's success in securing approval from the American mediator to discuss establishing a "new framework" for European security, according to statements by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, who is leading the mediation efforts alongside Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Kushner explained that the US president requested doubled efforts to find a solution that ends the war and places both parties in a stronger position. Nevertheless, behind-the-scenes details of the meeting indicate Washington's alignment with the Russian proposal aimed at first defining clear parameters for Europe's future security architecture before proceeding to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict definitively.

Marginalization of European Allies and Its Impact on France

These moves place European capitals, led by Paris, before a complex reality, evoking the adage: "If you are not at the table, you are on the menu." Europeans find themselves compelled to settle for a secondary role in a file that directly affects their national security, the stability of their countries, and their economies.

Expatriate communities in France and Europe are following these developments with great interest, given the direct repercussions that any reconfiguration of regional security holds for internal stability, refugee flows, and the future foreign and economic policy trajectories of host nations in the coming phase.