France: "Europe to Join Ukraine Peace Talks"... Russian Death Toll Nears 400,000 (Roundup)

Peace talks set to begin in UAE on November 10
60% of young Russian men who died were killed in the war

AFP-Yonhap News Agency

Europe has also stepped forward to join talks on ending the war in Ukraine. The move is seen as an effort to prevent backroom talks between the United States and Russia and ensure Europe does not lose its influence over the negotiations.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on German broadcaster RTL on November 8 local time, "Europe will also take part in the Ukraine peace talks to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from November 10 to 11. France will be included in the delegation we send, and we will ensure that Europe's voice is heard."

Minister Barrot did not specify who would participate in the negotiations. "At times, discussions on ending the war have taken place without Europe," he said, adding, "We have made it clear to U.S. mediators that no discussion about Europe's future should disregard our expectations and demands."

Euronews reported that the European Union (EU) is forming a delegation to be led by Björn Seibert, head of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's cabinet. It said the delegation aims to prevent and monitor backroom collusion between the United States and Russia and protect Europe's interests in terms of security.

The talks are intended to resume negotiations among the United States, Ukraine and Russia, which were suspended last February because of the war in Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump has also said that a major deal could be reached. At a White House news conference on November 5, Trump said, "I met with Kirill Dmitriev, a special envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin," adding, "There will be a major deal in these negotiations, and all of Europe may be included."

Russia, too, is showing an active stance, having announced the head of its delegation ahead of the talks. Russian news agency TASS reported that the Russian government had already formed its delegation for the negotiations and that Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky would lead it.

As reports emerge that Russian military casualties in the war in Ukraine are nearing 400,000, analysts say Russia may take a more active approach to future negotiations. Bloomberg reported that an analysis of classified Russian documents obtained by hacker groups found that 392,700 death certificates issued between the start of the war in February 2022 and the end of August this year explicitly linked the deaths to the war. Bloomberg said the actual death toll is estimated to be higher, and that two-thirds of men aged 18 to 29 who died lost their lives in the war.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.