The United States, Ukraine and Europe are on the same page after the talks in Abu Dhabi, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said. The two-day meetings ended without a breakthrough on the most difficult issues – territories, security guarantees and the future security order in Europe.
Representatives of the United States, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the European Union and NATO took part in the consultations. The European delegations held separate meetings with the American and Ukrainian representatives, but were not admitted to the main trilateral format with Russia.
Prisoner exchange agreed
The only concrete result of the talks is an agreement in principle between Russia and Ukraine on a large-scale prisoner exchange. The exact number of people to be released is yet to be determined.
„One of the positive results is that we agreed on the largest humanitarian release of prisoners, with the numbers to be finalized tomorrow,“ Jared Kushner said after the meetings. According to him, the exchange could take place within the next two to three weeks.
Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky confirmed that an agreement in principle had been reached. The Ukrainian side also reported that an agreement had been reached.
Washington seeks Europe’s participation
The main obstacle to a broader agreement remains the lack of consensus on territories and postwar security guarantees. Russia insists on control over the entire Donbas, including areas it has failed to seize, while Kyiv refuses to cede territory.
The European Union said that any future agreement must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independent decision-making. Participants in the European-American consultations also confirmed that NATO must remain at the center of Euro-Atlantic collective defense.
Kushner said that Europe, the EU and NATO must participate in discussions on future guarantees in order to achieve a broader consensus. Moscow, however, continues to oppose the inclusion of European countries in the negotiations.
Next meetings in Moscow and Dublin
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on November 12. They will then travel to Dublin, where they will hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Russian and Ukrainian delegations have not held a direct meeting since February. After the talks in Abu Dhabi, Moscow and Kyiv remain far from an agreement to end the war, but the deal on prisoners is expected to be the first concrete humanitarian step in the new diplomatic cycle.
Sources: apnews.com, euronews.com, rferl.org