KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he had spoken with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to coordinate positions with the bloc ahead of US-mediated talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi this week.

European powers are engaged in an intense diplomatic push to ensure any settlement in Russia’s war on Ukraine is fair to Kyiv — and avoid Washington offering Moscow new security guarantees over Europe’s head.

Posting on X after speaking with von der Leyen, Zelensky said they had “coordinated our positions regarding the meeting in Abu Dhabi.”

“We are doing everything to ensure that the trilateral format delivers results,” he added.

The European Commission chief confirmed on social media after their exchange that “the EU will be present alongside our partners” for the Abu Dhabi talks taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday, echoing weekend statements by France’s foreign minister.

An EU official told AFP that national security officials for the EU, NATO, France, Germany and the United Kingdom would be on site — although precisely how they would be involved was still unclear.

“Exact formats we will see when we get there,” the official said.

The Kremlin insisted meanwhile that the upcoming talks will still be held in the trilateral Ukraine-Russia-US format.

“As for the Europeans, there are separate channels of communication between the Ukrainians and Europeans, as well as the Americans and Europeans,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

US President Donald Trump has stoked new fears of a US pivot toward the Kremlin by predicting a “very big” deal with Russia involving not only the Ukraine war but “all of Europe.”

Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner has likewise set alarm bells ringing in Europe after saying Washington was working on “a broader European security architecture that can help establish the conditions for lasting peace” in Ukraine.

Kushner participated by video link in a meeting in Brussels last week with European, Ukrainian and NATO officials, and has said Washington would consult with European partners “on the sidelines” of the Abu Dhabi talks.

European allies have long rejected Moscow’s desire to rewrite the European security architecture.

Before launching the war in Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin delivered an ultimatum to NATO which included a demand that the alliance’s troops be withdrawn from eastern Europe.