Zelensky meets Merz in Berlin as Ukraine talks with Russia loom in Abu Dhabi

Zelensky due in Berlin

Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Zelensky is due in Berlin on Tuesday, 3 November, for talks with Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The visit was not announced in advance for security reasons. Merz mentioned it during a speech to the IHK Berlin chamber of commerce, saying Zelensky would be back with him shortly after midday. The talks are expected to cover further military and financial support for Ukraine. The Berlin Security Conference opened on Tuesday morning with Lithuania as this year's partner country. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda is due to speak at the opening and to meet Merz at the Chancellery at 10:15, with EU budget talks and European competitiveness on the agenda.

Abu Dhabi round and a European seat

US special envoy Steve Witkoff has announced a new round of talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November, held at the level of the leaders' advisers. Witkoff described the agenda in a statement:

“The talks will revolve around security arrangements for the post-war period, de-escalation, humanitarian aid measures and the next steps on the path to peace.”

Witkoff also said US envoys would meet representatives of Germany, France, Britain, NATO and the EU in Brussels during the week of 2 November, covering security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe's security order after the war and reconstruction. Europeans insist on taking part in the negotiations, but German officials expect only a European presence in Abu Dhabi, not a seat at the table. Moscow has sent mixed signals on European involvement, and Washington is also weighing possible deals on Russian gas supplies to Europe.

Money and air defence

Union and SPD plan to bring a request for 200 million euros in additional winter aid for Ukraine before the Bundestag, as unplanned spending. According to government circles, 100 million euros would come from the Foreign Office budget and another 100 million from the Federal Development Ministry. The budget committee is expected to approve the request in the week of 9 November. The money is meant for Ukrainian power plants and other civil infrastructure that Russian strikes keep hitting. Zelensky has said Ukraine needs 70 billion euros from Europe for the coming year, a figure he named at the October EU summit, and how to raise it is to be decided at three EU summits before year-end. Ukraine mainly needs air defence missiles to counter Russia's ballistic missiles. US Patriot systems are the most effective option but are hard to spare, and the Bundeswehr has already handed over every Patriot system it can give up without endangering German air defence.

Foreign Office budget100

Federal Development Ministry100

Foreign Office budget

100 million euros

Federal Development Ministry

100 million euros

Data from the article text

Summit calendar ahead

Three summits follow the Abu Dhabi talks before the end of the year. The APEC economic summit in Shenzhen, China, runs on 18 and 19 November, and Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin may hold a trilateral meeting on its sidelines. China is Russia's most important backer in the war, and Western leaders say Putin could not continue the war without Chinese help. At about the same time, a summit of the Coalition of the Willing, about 35 states supporting Ukraine, is planned in Berlin to address further help for the winter. The G20 summit in Florida runs from 13 to 15 December, raising the question of whether Putin attends for the first time since the invasion and whether host Trump invites Zelensky.