Kremlin says Russian delegation held no talks with European officials in Abu Dhabi

The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russia's delegation to the latest round of US-mediated Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi had held no contacts with European representatives who also traveled to the United Arab Emirates amid the negotiations.

"No, such contacts were not planned, were not intended, and no such contacts took place," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked whether the Russian delegation had met European officials during the first day of renewed talks.

Russia and Ukraine began a new round of US-mediated peace negotiations in the Emirati capital Tuesday, with discussions resuming for a second day Wednesday.

The latest meetings are the first trilateral talks since negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, in February, which followed two earlier rounds hosted by Abu Dhabi in January and February.

Ahead of the talks, Ukrainian delegates and US envoys met separately in Abu Dhabi with representatives of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission.

Peskov said the Russian delegation was keeping President Vladimir Putin informed of developments in the negotiations.

He added that the Abu Dhabi talks had been discussed "one way or another" during Putin's meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow on Tuesday, describing their discussions as wide-ranging.

Peskov also said Moscow had received no request from Oslo for another phone conversation between Putin and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb initiated a phone call with Putin late last month.

Commenting on a maritime agreement signed Tuesday between the UK and other members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), Peskov said Moscow would assess its potential implications before determining its position.

"This partnership still needs to be analyzed to determine how these plans might affect our country's interests. Once that analysis is complete, we will be in a position to formulate a stance."

The UK Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that JEF members had signed a "Northern Navies Initiative" agreement aimed at strengthening maritime cooperation.

The ministry said the initiative would "increase security across northern Europe, the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea."

The JEF is a multinational military partnership comprising Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.