Ukraine, Russia and US hold first joint talks in nine months, Europe kept out of Russia meetings

Fact-check index: 78/100 — Most claims are directly supported by the cited France24, Guardian, CNBC, and NZZ pieces, but the claim that Europeans are 'barred' from Russia-facing sessions overstates an NZZ headline that poses this as an open question rather than a confirmed fact, and the closing inference about security guarantees is unsourced editorializing.

• First trilateral Ukraine-Russia-US talks in Abu Dhabi in over nine months — France24: 'first trilateral talks in more than nine months.'
• European officials are attending the talks — France24: 'European representatives will also attend.'
• Europeans are reportedly barred from the Russia-facing sessions — NZZ headline frames this as an open question ('dürfen sie auch mit Russland sprechen?'), not a confirmed exclusion; article states it more definitively than the source does.
• US officials now frame the goal as a 'final end' to the war, not another truce — Matches Guardian headline: 'US officials seek "final end" to Russia-Ukraine war.'
• Trump says he sees a 'strong inclination' to end the war — Matches CNBC headline verbatim.
• EU insists no settlement can be decided over Kyiv's and Europe's heads — NZZ: 'Eine Friedenslösung darf nicht über die Köpfe der Ukraine und der Europäer hinweg entschieden werden – das ist das Mantra der EU.'
• The Kremlin has shown little appetite for that so far — NZZ: 'Der Kreml hat dafür bis anhin wenig Gehör.'
• If Europe stays locked out of the Russia track, its security guarantees risk being settled without it — Editorial inference not directly stated in any cited source; builds on the weakly-sourced 'barred' claim.