ISTANBUL

Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov on Saturday said that the national security advisers of European countries arrived in the capital Kyiv for talks aimed at ending the ongoing Ukraine war.

Umerov wrote on US social media company X that the participants of the meeting will be representatives from Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, as well as NATO, European Commission and European Commission officials.

“An intensive working day lies ahead: security and economic issues, work on framework documents, and coordination of further steps with partners,” Umerov added.

The upcoming meetings in Kyiv are part of a series of talks announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which are set to take place in January, as US-mediated diplomatic efforts continue to seek a settlement to the nearly four-year-long Russia-Ukraine war.

Zelenskyy said on Thursday that the meeting of national security advisers is the first such meeting in Ukraine, adding that they expect the American team to join “online” the talks scheduled for Jan. 3.

The Ukrainian president also declared talks on Jan. 5 and 6, first between chiefs of general staff, and later between European leaders and the leaders of the “Coalition of the Willing.”

“We are preparing now to ensure that the meeting is productive, that support increases, and that there is greater political confidence both in the security guarantees and in the peace agreement,” he added.