Medinsky after Abu Dhabi talks: Russia will reclaim all its land

Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky said after talks with the U.S. and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi that “every inch” of Russia's land will be returned “one way or another.” The meeting took place on Wednesday; Russia kept Europe away from the three-way talks.

Medinsky accompanied the words with a scornful smile and advised European newspapers to keep living in a world of illusions. Russia has previously declared four Ukrainian regions and Crimea its own unilaterally, but does not fully control them in reality. According to Ukrainian media, Russian representatives exaggerated the size of the territory Moscow controls during the talks in the Emirates.

According to a Russian news website, the main topic of the meeting was the new architecture of European security. Medinsky added that it was the shortcomings of the current system that led to the conflict, meaning Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Asked whether Russia and Ukraine had come closer to peace, he nonetheless answered in the affirmative: “I think so.” In his words, much depends on all participants in the process, on Ukraine, on the position of the U.S. and on whether “Europe comes to its senses.” The quote was carried by a Russian news agency.

Representatives of European countries were also in Abu Dhabi, but only for consultations with the Americans and Ukrainians: Russia refused to have them at the table of the three-way talks, including those on the European security system. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mocked their presence, remarking that Europeans could sit in a hotel. U.S. representative Jared Kushner said after the meeting that Washington is “trying to find out” whether Europeans could be invited to the talks.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz