Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin for a meeting with Merz ahead of talks in Abu Dhabi
Kyiv • UNN
Zelenskyy will meet with Germany's leadership and participate in a security conference. The parties will discuss air defense, energy, and support for Ukraine.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Berlin on November 3, where a meeting with, among others, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is planned. The Head of State reported this on social media, UNN writes.
Visit program
Today, together with the team, we are in Berlin. There will be meetings with the Chancellor and the President of Germany, and the President of the Bundestag. I will also take part in this year's Berlin Security Conference
What will be discussed
"The most important thing is our diplomatic coordination: important meetings lie ahead, strengthening air defense and supporting our energy sector. This will be the priority of today's talks," Zelenskyy said.
The President noted that "we are all interested in security, stability and protecting the international order based on rules." "And we must work together so that these principles are translated into concrete decisions and actions. We thank Germany for its readiness to support our protection of life and for the very serious joint work!" he said.
Visit to the EU ahead of peace talks
Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced Zelenskyy's visit to Berlin on Tuesday morning, ahead of new talks between Russia and Ukraine on ending the war, at an industry event in the German capital, dpa reports.
The visit was not announced in advance for security reasons.
A few hours ago, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced a new round of talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States next Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. The talks will take place at the level of leaders' advisers, Witkoff said.
Witkoff also said that U.S. envoys are to meet this week with representatives of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, NATO and the European Union. The talks in Brussels are to focus on "security guarantees for Ukraine, the postwar security architecture of Europe and economic opportunities to support Ukraine's reconstruction."
The Europeans insist on participating in the talks. German officials expect a European presence in Abu Dhabi, although Europe is unlikely to be at the negotiating table for now, the publication reports.
Three important summits will take place after the talks in Abu Dhabi.
On the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic summit on November 18 and 19 in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin may hold trilateral talks.
At approximately the same time, a summit of the so-called Coalition of the Willing is scheduled to take place in Berlin. It includes about 35 countries supporting Ukraine. The meeting will focus on further assistance to Ukraine, first and foremost so that it can withstand Russia's pressure during the coming winter.
The Group of Twenty (G20) summit will then take place in Florida from December 13 to 15. The key question is whether Putin will attend for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. If so, will Trump also invite Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, the publication notes.
The talks between Merz and Zelenskyy, as dpa points out, will likely also concern military and financial support for Ukraine.
In military terms, Ukraine primarily needs air defense missiles to intercept Russia's dangerous ballistic missiles. The best option is the American Patriot system.
The German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, have already transferred all the Patriots they can provide without jeopardizing their own air defense, dpa writes .
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine needs an additional 70 billion euros ($77.5 billion) from the Europeans for next year. He named this amount at the latest EU summit in October.
How these funds can be raised will reportedly be discussed at three EU summits that are still to take place this year. The focus of these talks will be the EU's medium-term financial planning.