Europe must be at the table in any talks on ending the Ukraine war, they add, in the wake of this week's Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi.

"What exactly are the men in Abu Dhabi doing — negotiations, talks, or something in between? "Another round of talks, which we have seen very many times. And no result has come from it," Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) told "Aktuaalne kaamera".

In Abu Dhabi, European representatives practically sat with their ears against the door from outside. Tsahkna said discussing European security without European participation is dangerous — but that this is not what is happening. What is dangerous is if Russia talks about arms control and the others take the bait. "That can be sold to the world. Look what a good thing — both sides will start controlling their weapons and troop positions. But we know, and the Americans know too, that Russia does not comply with arms control agreements," the minister went on.

Presidential security adviser Rainer Saks meanwhile said Europe is setting itself up for a major mistake if it lets its security architecture be set as a condition for ending the Ukraine war. But above all, Europe has to represent itself, come what may.

"We saw representatives of five countries there, or was it four. Plus an EU Commission representative and a NATO representative. You cannot negotiate like that. Europe has to do its homework," Saks said.

Marek Kohv, program director at the International Center for Defense and Security (ICDS), meanwhile said Europe has to get its foot in the door to have a say. The Baltic states, though, must not let themselves be silenced.

"Here we can recall how all of Europe started to acknowledge at the beginning of 2022 — we have always said that Russia is a threat. And now, on the other side, we see from the American side this desire to quieten us, so that we no longer talk about things as they are," Kohv said.

Kohv noted, against the backdrop of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's demand that NATO keep clear of Russia's borders, that the alliance is internationally represented in the Baltics and has defense plans.

International talks are taking place in Abu Dhabi aimed at finding solutions to end the war in Ukraine. The process is made critical by the fact that a review of the broader European security architecture has been set as a condition for achieving peace. Although the talks directly concern Europe's future, Europe lacks strong and unified representation at the table — only four or five countries, the European Commission and NATO are represented, leaving Europe in rather the role of observer.

Tsahkna has said the best the Abu Dhabi talks can achieve is a ceasefire, and that he does not personally believe one will be reached because Putin wants to divide the West. Reform MP Marko Mihkelson, chair of the Riigikogu foreign affairs committee, went further, calling the meeting a "diplomatic special operation" aimed at imposing Russia's terms, and noting that Lavrov said outright Russia has no interest in a ceasefire because it does not want to give Europe time to regroup. Liis Mure of the ICDS meanwhile pointed out that every mechanism the Americans are now proposing — dialogue formats, confidence-building measures, arms control — existed before in the OSCE and the NATO-Russia Council, and Russia dismantled or withdrew from almost all of it.

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